Elle VS Minecraft
by ScarlettSlaysSquids
Summary: I know you've seen a bajillion stories about people getting sucked into Minecraft, but have you seen your typical popular girl try to survive in the game? Probably. But this time, we're doing it Scarlett-Style! (Which means explosions, long A/Ns, and a lack of a plot). Will I have any readers by the end of this series? I doubt it. Based loosely off of "New World" by SkyDoesMC.
1. The Boring Prologue

**Hello people of the Internet! After spending a week doing Christmasy-type things and clearing out my documents, I'm ready for the New Year! And with a new year comes new stories, so I present to you: Elle VS Minecraft! I may or may not change the title later on. So, before I begin, let me tell you where this story originated from. **

**I've decided that I want to challenge myself with this story. First of all, I hope to update every other day, and maybe every day. Those of you who followed "Equinox's Revenge" knew how long it took to update, and I feel like I lost a lot of viewers due to that. And next comes the hard challenge. **

**I want to put everything I hate into one person. I will make you all despise her, maybe even enjoy her suffering ;) or not. But then, I will find a way to make each and everyone one of you like (or tolerate) her by the end of the story. I might even tolerate her. As you can see, I'm working on character development. I'm going to regret doing this...**

**Now that I'm did mrambling, enjoy the story! And yes, there are girls who act like this, I've had friends in the past who were similar to these characters. I may exaggerate a little bit... Not really. Enjoy!**

"And that's how you simplify this equation!" My teacher concluded as the bell rang. I yawned and looked at my nails. I really needed to paint them before the winter formal tonight. My dress was sapphire blue, not ocean blue. I didn't even want to think about my nails not matching my dress. I glanced at the clock and realized I could leave. Then I'd get a mani-pedi with my friends. I smiled as I picked up my books. My boyfriend Vincent was walking towards me.

"Hey babe." He said, wrapping an arm around my waist. I kissed his lips and he pulled me closer.

"Get a room!" A girl called. I ignored her. She was probably just jealous because she was forever alone while I had my boyfriend.

We pulled apart and smiled. "I can't wait for the dance tonight." He told me.

"Yeah, I have to go get my nails done, do my hair and makeup, and find the perfect pair of shoes!" I said. "So much to do."

"You'd better be over at my house by seven." He told me.

"But I need more than four hours to get ready." I explained. "Plus, I can't get my-" I stopped myself from saying contacts. "Oh, alright. I'll be there at seven."

"Good. I love you." He waved and set off towards his car. I sighed. Being with Vincent made things so complicated. It was probably my fault. He must have told me to come at seven and I forgot.

I shoved my books into my bag and walked out the doors to the school. The cold December air hit my arms, but I wouldn't dare wear a coat with this outfit. I'd rather suffer than look bad. My friends waved to me and I walked over.

"Hey, Elle!" Camille called to me.

"What's up, Cam?" I said. "Are you ready to get your nails done?"

"Of course we're ready!" Vanessa said. "Are we going to take my car? I just got a new sports car-"

"My dad bought me a Mercedes." I interrupted. "We can take that."

Her face fell. "Alright."

I lightly punched her arm. "Cheer up, Nessie. We're going to get a mani-pedi! I'll pay for it, my treat."

She smiled. "Thanks, Elle."

"C'mon, let's go!" Camille said impatiently. "We have five hours to get ready for this dance."

"Actually, four for me." I told her. "Vincent needs me at seven."

Camille and Vanessa exchanged looks. "We should go then." We walked to my brand new car and jumped in.

After arriving at the nail salon, we were greeted as always. "Hey, Elle, how are you?" The manger asked. They knew me because of my frequent visits.

I smiled. "Great. Could the three of us get the deluxe mani-pedi package? We have a winter formal tonight."

"Exciting! I'll set you up right over here, follow me."

We sat down and my favorite girl, Anna, walked over. "Elle! What can I get for you?"

"I need my nails done in this blue, with sparkles all over."

She nodded. "Let's get started."

Camille wanted a French manicure while Vanessa insisted on paying for herself. "What kind of a friend would I be if I took you out but made you pay? Listen, if you're worried about the money just get a plain color. It's inexpensive."

She finally agreed and got red to match her dress. We made small talk as we were pampered. After an hour and a half we were done, so we payed the ladies and walked back to my car. "Who's house do we want to get ready at?" Camille asked.

"We can go to-"

"My house is fine." I interrupted Vanessa. She quickly nodded in agreement.

We pulled up to my house. No, more like mansion. My mom waved to me as we went to my bedroom. The girls had thrown their dresses in the car back at a school and were now clutching them in their hands. "Alright, it's-" I checked my pink sparkly clock. "-four thirty. Only two and half hours to get ready."

"Don't worry, we'll help!" Vanessa said warmly. Camille was looking at my makeup collection in shock.

"Every time I come over here it gets bigger." She awed.

I laughed. "I just got a shipment of makeup from Paris. It's a whole line using natural ingredients."

Vanessa picked up my favorite eye shadow palette. "These colors are gorgeous! Is this new?"

"It's my favorite." I said. She quickly put it down and mumbled sorry. "Let's go get in our dresses!"

We changed into our outfits. I had a long, sapphire blue gown complete with a sequined bodice. Camille's less-impressive dress was baby pink with a slit for her leg, higher than any I had ever seen. It had a rose belt too. Vanessa looked stunning, I had to admit. She wore a ruby-red gown that was simple yet elegant. The belt hugged her hips perfectly, and she looked modest... She looked better than me. I couldn't let that happen.

"Nessie, you look so mature!" Camille gushed.

Vanessa blushed. "You guys look amazing too." It was clear she wasn't used to attention. I could fix that.

"That dress would look great with your hair straightened!" I said. "And here,  
this eye shadow and lipstick are perfect together! The best, though, is this face mask. It'll make your skin glow!"

She took the products gratefully. "Thanks, Elle."

I grinned, thinking of how bad she'd look. I, on the other hand, had to look perfect. I took one of every type of product I owned and began slathering it on my face. After a full hour of work, I had finished. I glanced in the mirror and smiled. I had on enough makeup to cover up all my flaws.

Camille came over to me. "Does it look okay?"

I clenched my teeth. "Maybe a bit less eyeliner? And why did you wing it out three times?"

"I'm starting a trend." She stated confidently. "They have one wing and two wings, why not three?"

"Okay..." I said cautiously. I loved how my friends made me look gorgeous.

As I began to curl my hair, I heard sobbing from the other bathroom. "Is that Vanessa?" Camille asked.

I pretended to look concerned. "I hope she's okay."

"Are you going to help her?" Camille asked again when I went back to curling my hair.

"She'll be fine." I waved my hand for emphasis as footsteps began trudging down the hallway. The sobs grew closer until they were right in front of me. I sighed, knowing I couldn't ignore then anymore. "What's wrong?"

Vanessa sniffed. "I put on the face mask you gave me, Elle, but I must've done something wrong. I followed the directions, but..." I looked up at her swollen face and stifled a laugh. She looked hideous!

"Oh, Nessie." I said soothingly. "What could it have been?"

Camille looked at the label and frowned. "It has almond extract. Aren't you allergic to almonds?"

Vanessa gasped. "Yes! My reactions aren't deadly though, just swelling." She took a look in the mirror and screamed. "I can't go to the dance like this!"

I looked at her and almost felt pity. I mean, she was already pretty ugly. This wasn't helping things. Still, I really couldn't let anything get in the way of my beauty, even if it was at her expense. If she was as gorgeous as me, wouldn't she do the same thing? Anyone would, right?

"Elle, go grab some moisturizer, concealer, and natural foundation, but not the same brand as this. Nessie, you come sit here and leave this washcloth on your face. I'll go get some medicine." Camille ordered.

I blinked furiously, taken aback by her sudden determination. Camille was normally, well... She wasn't very smart or assertive. I didn't even have time to snap at her for ordering me to do favors before I felt my legs carrying me to my makeup cabinet. I got the things that she asked for and returned the the room. Camille was already treating Vanessa.

"Here, that will reduce the swelling for a while. Elle, may I have the foundation and lotion?" I handed it to her silently and slowly went back to my curling iron. I was at a loss for words, to be honest. I just had to pray Camille didn't know what she was doing.

I finished with forty-five minutes to spare. With a grand total of about two hours, it was probably the fastest time I had gotten ready for a dance. Smiling, I turned around feeling like a queen. Camille and Vanessa were standing with their arms crossed.

"I see Camille fixed your face, Vanessa." I said cautiously.

"We have something we need to talk to you about." Vanessa said.

"Yeah!" Camille added for good measure.

"You've been acting... Differently ever since you started dating Vincent."

"I have not!" I insisted.

"Elle, dear, you've become very vain." Camille explained.

"You guys are as obsessed as me." I scoffed.

"Can you explain this?" Vanessa pulled my dress up a bit, revealing a black-and-blue mark on my leg.

"I... I tripped." I stuttered, thinking about where I had really gotten the mark. Vincent was mad after failing a math test, he told me I should've helped him study...

"We don't appreciate the changes, Elle." Vanessa continued. "You need to shape up."

"C'mon, Nessie." I begged.

"And stop messing up Vanessa's makeup!" Camille said loudly. I glared at her and she shrunk backwards.

"See, you did it again!" Vanessa accused. "Thanks for the makeup, Elle, but you need to change. It's either Vincent or us."

"You guys are just jealous because I'm dating and you can't get a guy. Sorry if I'm too perfect!" I yelled.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Goodbye, Elle. You've made a bad choice." She grabbed Camille's hand and walked out.

"You need me! You'll be nobodies now!" I called after them. They didn't turn their heads or acknowledge me. I sighed and sank into my chair. Tonight was just going to be great.

**I'm sorry if any of you found that painful. Writing 1,500+ words of girly topics isn't that fun either, trust me. And just as a disclaimer: I don't mean to offend anyone who shares traits with these girls or acts like them. I don't have a problem with makeup, popular girls, or girly-girls overall. I've just had experiences with people who take it to the extreme side, and this is what I've made. Don't. Judge. Me. **

**That aside, I promise the next couple of chapters will transition is the the actual story. I've also decided to write a legit plot unlike some of my other stories *cough New Feelings cough*. I know, I know, it's crazy. Me writing a plot? This is going to be interesting. **

**Leave me a review telling me if you like/dislike Elle and why. I need to know why you don't like her to make you like her :)**

**~Scarlett**


	2. Chocolate Ruins Everything

**Happy New Year! I spent my whole New Year's Eve home so I could write this for you guys. I ditched soooooooo many parties... Heck, who am I kidding? I don't get invites to parties. I don't even have friends...**

After, what, twenty minutes? After a long time of sitting in my chair, I decided getting up would be a good idea. Checking my clock, I smiled faintly. It was only 6:35. I had decided to walk to Vincent's house. I had a jacket to match my dress and he was only a couple blocks away. So what if it was twenty degrees outside? I was a popular girl, I had a reputation to uphold. Saving the environment made me look good. Global warming or whatever.

I slid my four-inch heels on and walked in front of the mirror. Vincent was really tall, another thing I loved about him. I could wear my tallest pair of heels and not be towering over him. I sighed thinking about him. Even after that little argument, tonight would be amazing. I could dance with him all night, drink at the after party, go back to his place afterwards... It would be so romantic. I had been waiting for an excuse to go on a date with him for so long. He always made sure he knew where I was, but he usually didn't enjoy going out on dates. I preferred going to dinner instead of his house. It didn't matter, though. I was lucky enough he asked me out, I should be grateful and let him make the choices.

After final touches, I looked in the mirror and smiled. The beautiful girl looking back at me smiled as well. I studied my blonde curls that reached past my shoulders, my baby blue eyes sparkling. I turned to the side and gasped. I had gained some weight in my stomach. Rushing to my scale, I looked at the weight and nearly cried. 105 pounds. I had worked so hard stay at 100, I had to skip breakfast for a week! I checked my height as well and saw that I was still 5'6". I sighed and hoped my weight gain wouldn't show.

The reflection of the clock in the mirror made me focus again. It was 6:45, and it took ten minutes to walk to Vincent's. I would have heels on, so that would make me take longer. I could always change shoes... Who was I kidding? I grabbed my jacket and flew out the door, determined to be on time. Last time I was late... I shuddered at the thought. I could still feel the bruise on my arm even though it wasn't visible.

After a while I got bored and looked to text someone. I couldn't text Vanessa or Camille, they were mad at me. Whatever. They'd see the mistake they made soon enough. I had five texts from Vincent and three missed calls. I sighed, he must've been so worried as to where I was. I quickly sent him a message saying I was on my way and looked at my Twitter. I was scrolling through the messages when I felt a bump and someone fell.

"Watch where you're going, loser!" I screeched. Glancing down to check my dress, I nearly screamed. "You ruined my dress, moron!"

A boy, around 5'8" tall, stared back at me. He had piercing blue eyes, messy black hair, and was thin as a twig. He was like a ghost, considering how pale he was. What did he do, play video games all day? I rolled my eyes as he trembled, eventually focusing on the smushed chocolate bar in his hand.

"You see that? That candy bar ruined a designer dress! Do you even know how much this cost? I guarantee it's more than your parents make in a month combined!"

"You're Elle Meadows." He said in awe.

I ignored him. "Now I'm going to be late to Vincent's! You've ruined my night, so thanks a lot."

"S...S- Sorry, Elle." He said weakly.

"You'd better be." I shoved him into a bush and he cried out. "And get some sun! You're as pale as a ghost!" I called as I stormed back down the sidewalk.

I had seen that boy before, but where? I racked my brains, trying to even come up with a name. Finally, I remembered seeing him working on a lab... He must've been in my science class. But his name, what was his name... Mickey? Yes, that must've been it. Thanks, Mickey.

My anger slowly died down as I approached my house. "It'll all be okay, Elle." I coached myself. "Take a deep breath. You have other dresses."

Turns out, I was very limited. Nearly all of my dresses were semi-formal or casual, and this was a formal dance. I couldn't show up not dressed appropriately! I had around five formal dresses that I could wear to the dance, but none of them really matched my makeup. Thankfully, I found a white gown in the back of my closet. It wasn't the fanciest dress, but if I threw my expensive sapphire necklace on it looked acceptable. Sighing, I hoped no one noticed my less-than-impressive outfit. Why had I bought this plain dress anyways?

My phone buzzed with another text from Vincent, and I nearly had a heart attack. It was 7:02. As I flew down the stairs, I considered how much I had checked the time. Most people probably found it strange that a girl wanted to be on time for a date, but when you were dating Vincent... Well, he got upset easily. It wasn't his fault or anything, it was just how he acted. I usually managed to smile and accept whatever he said; he is the one who asked me out and I should be flattered. Sometimes, though, it was frustrating. When he got really mad he hit me, but that hadn't happened in a while. He was getting better, he told me. And the constant texts were just because he wanted to keep me safe. He loved me.

I got out of my car (I didn't dare walk again) and rang his doorbell nervously. I was seven minutes late, what would he say? I hoped he would understand after I told him about the geek who hit me. Fear welled up inside me as I heard footsteps approach. The door squeaked open and a young girl greeted me.

"Elle, you look pretty!"

Vincent's younger sister ushered me in as the fear slowly went away. "Thank you, sweetie."

"My big brother is upstairs. Do you want to see my missing teeth?"

"As much as I'd love to, I can't keep him waiting. Maybe next time?"

"Okay!" She bounced off happily to eat a cookie.

"I hate kids." I muttered under my breath as I climbed the stairs. Slowly, I creeped through the hallway towards Vincent's room and opened the door. Maybe he'd be in a good mood. Maybe he wouldn't care since I told him where I was.

"You're nine minutes late." Crap.

"Vincent, sweetie!" I gushed, running over and kissing his cheek. "I had the most awful night! I was ready, and then this geek spilled chocolate on my dress-"

"Who was this geek?" He demanded.

"Oh, some boy from science-"

He pinned me against the wall and I winced. "You were with another guy?"

I shook my head. "No, no, he ran into me on the side- Ow!" I felt a sting as he smacked me.

I rubbed my cheek as he glared. "Listen, Elle, I am not in a good mood. I just lost a bet with my brother, so I need you to pay attention." I nodded as tears welled up in my eyes. "Come on." He grabbed my wrist and jerked me forward.

We walked next door to his brother's room. The door opened and he pushed me inside. "Five minutes, that's it!" Vincent called as I lifted my head off the floor. I was greeted by a dark room full of computers and video game posters, from what I could see. A scrawny boy that so recognized to be Jack, Vincent's brother, turned around in a desk chair and grinned.

"Elle, I see my brother has followed through with the terms of our bet."

"What do you want?" I asked cautiously.

He laughed. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I just want you to play this game." He motioned towards his computer screen.

"You mean... A video game? What are you, a geek?" I asked.

"You know, if you don't follow through with the conditions Vincent will be mad..."

I gulped and walked toward the bright screen. "What do I need to do?"

He guided my hands to the mouse and keyboard and I flinched. "This game is called Minecraft. Your main objective is to build anything imaginable."

"That's it?" I looked at the screen warily. Maybe if I stalled... "You know, this looks like it could chip my manicure. And the mouse doesn't work."

Jack inspected the mouse and sighed. "Fine, I'll get you a new one." He stormed into the hallway.

"Why did he even want me to play this?" I muttered, staring at the screen. "The graphics are awful, there's no objective, how do nerds like this stuff? This game is stupid."

Silence is a rare thing. Even when it occurs, it's usually a prelude to a loud noise. That's what happened to me. It was perfectly silent for a moment. Suddenly, I heard a buzzing noise and I felt like I was being electrocuted. My eyes started blurring. "Is this part of the game?" I called out. My stomach felt like it flipped. "Jack?"

I saw a flash of white and the world turned completely black.

**Yeah, I know it's kind of short, but I didn't have the tolerance to write about girly first-world problems any more. Good news, though: For those of you who wanted to see her fail, next chapter you'll be satisfied. I'll be writing that at three o'clock this morning, you've been warned...**


	3. The First Day

**Have you ever attempted to write in first person about a character who is the _exact_ opposite of you? Save yourself the stress and don't ever do it. Through this chapter, I would write something any normal person would do and then be like: Scarlett, wait. Elle's not normal, she's an idiot. What have I gotten myself into...**

I groaned and rubbed my head. What happened? My eyes flickered open and I gasped. Where was I? A cool breeze, unlike one I had ever felt before, sent a shiver down my back. I sat up and looked around.

The first things I noticed were the blocks. Everything was square. I tried to push myself up, but I realized my hands were plain. "I spend a hundred dollars on a manicure and this is what I get?" I complained to no one in particular. Something nuzzled my back and I jumped. A cow mooed as I turned to face it. "Eew! Cow slobber!" I screeched. It looked at me and walked towards some grass.

I stood up and continued observing. This world looked strangely familiar to me. Where had I seen it before... Wait a minute. Was I in Minecraft? Oh my gosh, the horror. No makeup, hairbrushes, or mirrors! This was not going to end well.

I decided to walk forward and find a drink. My complexion would NOT be ruined by this stupid game. I spotted a pool of water and nearly screamed when I saw my reflection. I was, well, plain. My curves, my perfect body, all gone! I resisted the urge to cry as I studied this form. My body was a straight as a ruler and I was wearing my pathetically simple white dress. All of my jewels and makeup were gone. Thankfully, I wasn't completely square like the character Jack used, but instead I was just mostly straight. The worst part, though, was my hair. It wasn't curled, but straight. I spent so long working on it.

"This is horrible!" I sobbed, sitting down and resting my head on my knees. I cried for a long time. Finally, I got up and looked up to the sky. The sun was right above me. Was it noon? Oh well, time didn't really matter. "Hey, you can stop worrying about what time it is." I laughed. Oh god, I was talking to myself. This was bad.

I saw a hill up ahead and decided to climb it. Looking down at my feet, I realized I was no longer wearing heels, just plain white flats. And now Minecraft had officially taken away my beauty, what was I without it? And empty person, really. My boyfriend, perfect life, beauty, all gone. I sighed and continued up the slope, feeling lost and afraid. Yep, that's right. Elle Meadows, the fearless popular girl, was afraid.

Five minutes worth of climbing got me to the top. Slowly, I got off my knees and looked around. There were animals across the land, and a line of sheep passed below me. I gazed over the sweeping hills and towering trees, past a swirling blue ocean, through a patch of odd flowers, my line of vision resting on ugly creatures that looked like Squidward. The land looked like the perfect paradise.

I hated it.

The trees were clogging up the area. Where were the loggers who would make the land flat enough to settle? Where were the cities, malls, and restaurants? More importantly, where were the people? Was it possible I was alone in this world? It couldn't be. How would anyone survive in a place where you had to make your own food, walk places, and basically be independent? Back at home I had a maid to make be food, and my mom made me dinner. No one my age would know how to cook. Except for the poor people, they were so lame they couldn't afford maids. Pathetic. **Disclaimer: This is how I feel Elle would talk. I don't want to offend anyone, if it makes you feel better I don't have maids :p**

A question I should've addressed hours ago swan to the front of my mind: How'd this happen? I didn't understand if being transported into a game was possible. Maybe nerds were smarter than I gave credit. But why me? Why was I here? Aside from my overall awesomeness, there wasn't really anything about me that said: Hey! This girl would be great to transport to a video game! What was my purpose in this place? There wasn't anything I could possibly do to impact others' lives. I sighed in desperation.

My attention was directed to the sky. It was turning a deep shade of purple. Why would it change color... was that a sunset? Jack never told me about the night in this game. Would anything different happen?

I heard a grunting noise in the distance. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a green person holding its arms out, almost like a zombie. My eyes widened as I noticed monsters begin to appear. A skeleton, a spider, some creepy black thing, and a green thing. Somewhere, on a poster in Jack's room, I had seen that face before. Was it an official logo for this game? Maybe, these things were friendly. I had enough sense not to approach the skeletons or zombies, I had a fear of spiders, and the black thing looked like a tall pedophile with glowing eyes. This... Green thing seemed like my best bet.

I cautiously walked over to it. "Hey! You! C'mere!" It completely ignored me. I stomped my foot and yelled louder. "You! I'm Elle Meadows, and my father could get you in legal trouble! So, listen to me right-"

The thing's head turned and its eyes locked on me. It slowly approached me and I smiled. "Thank you. Now, what is your name?"

It stopped in front of me and stared. Suddenly, its body began turning white and it hissed. "What are you-"

I was blown backwards into a tree. My head hit the trunk and I groaned. A sharp pain shot through my ankle and my head throbbed. Rain started to fall. I felt like lying there forever, but I felt something fly by my ear. My eyes snapped open to see a skeleton... With a bow? I nearly screamed as I scrambled to my feet, ignoring the pain that I felt. Running as fast as an injured girl in a dress could, I went in the direction of a little cave in a hill.

When I reached my destination I collapsed against the cave's wall. "This is awful!" I cried out. "No makeup, no hot body, no personal hygiene, it's raining, and I'm all alone! I'm hungry, have no food, and no way out! I hate this game."

I crossed my arms angrily as the static of electricity filled the air. A giant boom bounced off the cave walls as a flask if light hit the ground right next to me. I screamed and backed against the cave walls, looking at the fire it left behind. How would I put it out? Fear filled me as I realized how hopeless survival was. Whether it was now, later, or soon; I was going to die here.

Familiar monster noises echoed through the cave. Why were they in a cave? This was, like, safety, right? They couldn't get me here. This game had to have a safe zone, no normal person could survive these monsters. Did this hand have an end? I know Jack said the point was literally to build, but how? Besides, from what I knew about this game, it was popular. It had to have an end. Maybe it could save me. No matter what, I would find the end. After I figured out how to play the game.

**I'm sorry if you facepalmed multiple times. If you did, leave a review letting me know! It was just that kind of chapter, I'm sorry. But anyways, I hope that sort of fulfilled your need for Elle to fail at Minecraft. I'm planning more failure for next chapter. **

**~Scarlett **


	4. You Can Break Things?

**Glad to know I annoyed you with Elle's noob tendencies. Maybe this chapter will make you happier... Probably not. **

I hugged my knees and shivered as the rain continued. The fire had gone out a few minutes ago, leaving me with no heat source. It was dark, cold, and wet. I felt miserable. Why would anyone want to play this game?

There had to be a point. I may not be a gamer, but I was pretty sure that walking around, looking at landscapes, and getting beaten by monsters wasn't exactly what made a good game. Maybe being a nerd was just this boring, although something told me otherwise. But what could I do?

The sun slowly began to rise over the horizon. Cautiously, I peered outside. A zombie was a few feet away from me under a tree and I gasped. He saw me and started walking, but he caught on fire. I raised my eyebrows as he burned to death. Did sunlight kill these things? It must be... I scanned the area and saw many flaming bodies. "Ew." I muttered.

There was a brown lump of rotted flesh on the ground where the zombie died. I slowly walked over and bent down to inspect it. Suddenly, it flew in front of my face. I screamed as it disappeared from sight. Where on Earth **(or rather Minecraftia) **did it go? I crossed my arms and pouted. This was awful.

My sadness was replaced by rage. "That stupid nerd got me into this!" I punched the tree with all my might. To my surprise, it didn't hurt, but the log looked broken. Interesting. Could I break the log? Would the tree fall down on me if I did? I didn't really have any other options, and maybe dying would send me back to Earth. I punched the wood again and it seemed to be near breaking. One last punch and the block flew at me, but I was prepared. Curiously, I studied the tree. One log on bottom, an empty space, and the rest of the tree. I normally don't pay attention in science, but I was pretty sure that wasn't how gravity worked. Things can not float in mid air. What type of game had I gotten myself into?

I decided the objects that "disappeared" really had to be somewhere. Breaking things would be pointless if they were gone, right? I looked around the area just in case and saw nothing. Sighing and having no energy to be angry, I put my hands to my sides. 'I really want that log back..." I thought to myself.

My hand was filled with a strange texture and, yet again, I screamed. The words "Oak Wood" flashed before my eyes. I looked down and saw my log in my hands. How interesting, I asked for something and it appeared. Maybe... "I really want a salad!" I announced. Nothing happened. It must've only applied to things I picked up. An idea struck me and I grinned. If I was going to be here for a while, I might as well make a house. If I grabbed more of these logs I could make one. I went to work, grabbing logs, something called a sapling, and occasionally apples.

I got the last tree and looked at my work. Seventy logs later, I had cleared the forest. I noticed that when I got to sixty-four logs, I had to start over from one. Maybe it was an organizational thing? Whatever, I didn't care. I had enough logs to build a house. I saw a clearing in the distance and ran off to make it.

My house was pathetically small but cute, in a way. It looked like a cozy log cabin. I happily walked in, blocking the entrance behind me. I had put in a hole for a window so I'd know what time of the day it was. Currently, night was approaching. I smiled, knowing I'd be safe from monsters, and decided to focus on the real issue: my appearance.

I didn't know how, but my hair wasn't getting greasy in this world. Even though I didn't need to bathe, my instinct told me to. If only I could find that pool of water again. And my eyes were starting to hurt. I had my contacts in for three days straight ever since I ran out. I was going to grab some new ones until Vincent asked me to come early, and I wouldn't dare wear glasses. I looked out my window and sighed, knowing how impossible it would be to look as fabulous as usual here. I didn't even have an accessories.

Then I saw it. Something that could save my looks and pride. The most beautiful, gorgeous blue flower. The shade of it was that of an ocean, deep blue and powerful. Even though it was night, a soft light reflected off of it. This was my flower. It was meant for me. I threw all caution to the wind and went outside. Luckily no monsters were near my house yet. Entranced by the beauty, I walked forward like the zombies I had seen yesterday. I ignored all signs or possible threats until I reached it. Bending down, I picked it and stared.

"It's beautiful." I whispered, awestruck. I hadn't seen anything this stunning in a while. The simplicity and glow was amazing. Preparing to leave and go to my house, I turned to be face-to-face with a familiar face.

"I'm not falling for your tricks this time! You aren't friendly!" I yelled to the green blob. I sprinted off, but it was still chasing me. I didn't know how all the mobs had spawned in the minute it took me to pick a flower, but skeletons were soon shooting me and zombies joined the chase. I ran as fast as I could, but it wasn't enough. An arrow grazed my cheek and I felt the blood running down my face.

Part of me wanted to stop then and there. Let them hurt me, maybe I'd be able to leave. But a stronger part kept me running. It kept saying I'd be fine, that this needed to happen. Overall, I decided to stop arguing with myself and keep moving. That willpower didn't last long, because after five minutes I felt myself out of breath. I paused for just a moment, but it was enough time for the monsters. A zombie constantly hit me until a green thing looked directly at me and exploded.

They say the feeling of flying is uniquely amazing. I disagree on the amazing part. It's terrifying, never knowing where or when you'll land. I, unfortunately, fell right against a mountain. I heard a sickening crank as my back hit the stone. Monsters began to surround me and I gulped, knowing this was the end. I closed my eyes and waited for the pain.

**...Maybe someday she'll learn to make planks. No promises, though. Next chapter we will have a new character introduced. Yay. **

**Leave a review telling me how much of a noob you were when you first played Minecraft! I had been watching Minecraft gameplay for a while so I wasn't too bad... That's a lie. **


	5. The Sand Escape That Failed

**Ah! So many comments! Overwhelming! In all seriousness, thank you guys for the sudden interest in this story! I feel like my life has meaning now :) Just kidding. Enjoy my failed attempt at an energetic fight/escape scene!**

I heard the rustle of grass as they approached me, put the pain never came. "Take that, creeper!" A voice yelled. Then I heard weird pig noises... I slowly opened my eyes and gasped. A blur of black rushed back and forth, killing all the monsters. When it was left with nothing to kill, it turned to face me. It was a boy in an odd black suit wearing a necklace and sunglasses.

"Who... Who are you?" I stuttered.

He smiled. "My name is Adam, but feel free to call me Sky."

"I'm Elle." I said as he pulled me off the ground. "Thank you for saving me."

"No problem. Now, what brings you to Minecraftia?"

"Minecraftia?" I asked. "What's that?"

He raised an eyebrow. "We're in Minecraftia right now."

I nodded. "You mean this stupid game?"

"Stupid?" He seemed offended. "I play this game for a living."

"Ew, you're a nerd?" I took a step backwards. He rolled his eyes.

"No, I'm a successful YouTuber who commentates on Minecraft."

I, in turn, rolled my eyes. "Stop trying to impress me."

"You're insulting my life choices!"

"You're making me seem mean."

He sighed. "Listen, you don't exactly seem like the kind of person who knows what they're doing, no offense. I'm going to assume you were magically transported here as well?" I nodded slowly. "Yeah, me too. That's not what matters right now. We need to find somewhere to stay before the mobs get us."

"Mobs?" I echoed. We had started running into the forest.

"You know, the monsters. Don't you play Minecraft?" He asked with an air of suspicion.

"Uh..." I said. "Not really."

He sighed. "That would explain why you were out in the middle of the night with nothing to fight mobs. I bet you thought the mobs were friendly, too."

"No!" I lied. "I'm not that dumb."

He chuckled. "Alright, can you check for mobs behind us?" We had landed on sand by now. I looked behind us and froze.

"Sky, we have some followers."

He turned around as well and groaned. The equivalent of every mob I had seen so far and more was heading towards us. "Not good..." He trailed off as they got closer.

"What are those green things?" I asked him. Yes, that was completely irrelevant.

"Creepers that are going to kill us if we don't make a plan..." He looked around, but then seemed to find something.

The zombies' groans got closer and louder. "Sky?"

"Do you trust me?" He asked over the noise. An arrow shot past us.

"I just met you, this isn't really a good time-"

He looked into my eyes with a firm expression. "Trust me."

I paused. This stranger had just saved me from mobs, but he was a stranger. Still... I sighed. "Okay. I trust you."

He took one last look at the mobs before grabbing my hand. "Don't let go."

He sprinted to the entrance of what looked like a sand cave and shoved his sword into the ground. "What are you doing?!" This guy had just gotten rid of our only weapon! Sand began falling and he sprinted ahead, pulling me behind him. He let go of my hand for one second to jump to another block.

"C'mon Elle! Jump!" He called to me.

Rapidly falling sand began to block my vision. "I can't!"

"You can do it!" He encouraged. I furiously shook my head. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Sky, I-" A creeper hit my back and the sand below me fell, causing me to scream. With the last grip I had on the block, I jumped towards Sky's voice. My fingers grabbed hold of the edge of the platform, but they were slipping fast. "Sky!" I called out.

Strong hands gripped mine and pulled me onto the blocks and the familiar feeling of Sky's hand holding mine returned. Breathlessly, I held him in a death grip as we ran out of the falling sand and into the rising sun. We turned around and watched as the mobs were suffocated by sand.

"I guess those Epic Jump Maps taught me something." He said aloud.

I gasped for breath and sat down, Sky'd hand still in mine. "Thanks for saving me again." I said between a coughs.

"You should just trust yourself. You could've made that jump." He answered. "Alright, now where will we find shelter?"

I shrugged. "I saw a few small houses on my way here. They were that way." I pointed. "Although they might already be taken by Squidwards."

"A village!" Sky exclaimed. "Not the best shelter, but we can get food."

"That was a village?" I asked. "Pretty pathetic, if you ask me."

He began walking. "I'm starting to think you call everything in this game pathetic or stupid."

I shrugged, though I knew he couldn't see it. "I'm very open with my opinions."

"You should try seeing this from a different perspective. Based on the fact that you play Minecraft in a dress, I'll assume you're rich or force your parents to buy you nice things."

'Both', I thought to myself.

"And since you don't seem to have a clue how to play the game, I'll guess this was either your first time playing or you're a noob, maybe both."

"Am I that bad?" I asked him.

He turned. "Have you even eaten anything while you were here?"

"I had three apples earlier-"

"Or crafted anything. Do you know crafting recipes?"

I tilted my head. "What's crafting?"

He groaned. "I have so much to teach, and you have so much to learn. This is just great."

That stung a little. He made me feel a bit worthless. _He's just a nerd, you don't care about his opinions, _I told myself. _He's just going to help you survive until you find the end of this game. _Then I could go back to my luxurious life with Vincent.

Was time passing in Earth? For all I knew, Vincent was by my side begging me to wake up. I assumed I was in a coma-type thing since my brain was active here, but maybe my body had disappeared. Maybe I appeared to be asleep. That was it. This was a dream. I could just wake up and be fine. That didn't explain why I felt pain, though.

My cheek itched and I reached up to scratch it. My hand grazed something warm and wet, and when I looked at it there was blood covering it. "Sky, is there a pond nearby?"

He climbed to the top of a tree and looked. "There's one about fifty blocks away and holy crap your cheek is bleeding." he said.

I smiled sarcastically. "Thank, Captain Obvious. Let's go."

"You're welcome Sargent Sarcasm." he muttered, but I heard him and glared. We walked for around five minutes before reaching the stream. I bent down and looked at my reflection, trying to refrain from crying. My hair was a tangled mess and my face was all cut up. My eyes were red from lack of sleep. I looked like a serial killer. "What's wrong?" Sky asked.

I looked at him with teary eyes. "My face is what's wrong. I mean, look at me! No makeup, cut-up face, messy hair..."

"We're on the brink of starving, and all you care about is your looks?" He asked.

"You don't understand." I snapped and he backed off.

"Alright then. You can stay here and do whatever, I'll carve out that mountain as a temporary base."

I ignored him and went to work on my injuries.

**You probably thought she was acting like a normal being at first, didn't you? Ha, I fooled you. **

**If anyone understood that New World scene attempt then I love you, let me know in the reviews! I have watched the video at least fifteen times today trying to get that right. No joke. **

**~Scarlett**


	6. And She Made Makeup

**I'm sorry this one is kind of short... I procrastinated. Here we are with more noob-ness and maybe a new character... You'll see. **

I resisted the urge to gag as I cleaned the blood from my face. The sight of blood usually made me nauseous, so you can imagine how I felt now. Luckily, with the help of water I was able to clean it quickly. I looked up and saw that the sun was still high in the sky. I had plenty of time to tackle my next challenge: my hair. I needed a brush or comb of some type, but where could I find that?

Maybe I could do that crafting thing Sky was talking about, but how would I go about making a comb? All I had to use was logs and flowers, as far as I knew. If only the logs could break into sticks...** (If any of you raged let me know in the comments) **Oh well. I ran my fingers through my hair, which helped a little bit. Maybe I could skip the whole hair problem and move onto the next: the lack of makeup products. I could feel my lips getting chapped and soon they'd turn ugly. I scanned the area, looking for anything of use when I found it.

A red rose sat in the middle of some tall grass. I crouched and walked over to it as if stalking prey. Cautiously, I inspected to make sure it looked good and picked it. This, I decided, would make a nice lip stick. If I crushed it between my fingers I could use the juice. Doing so, I applied my new creation. Not exactly designer brand, but it would have to do. I was getting a hang of this Minecraft thing.

I looked out on the pond and spotted a wooden floaty-thing. It looked an awful lot like a pathetic boat. I figured Sky would be so proud of me if I brought him a boat. I'd prove to him that I was useful. I crept on the edge of land until I was as close as possible to the boat. Using all my strength, I leaped into the boat and tried to balance myself. Surprisingly, it worked. Smiling, I realized I just had to figure out how to move it.

An idea came to me quickly. I cautiously leaned and the boat dipped forward. I went even further and started speeding along the water. It was almost fun, to be honest. I kept picking up speed until the shore became very close to my eyes. I screamed as the boat crashed into the dirt I had sat on just minutes ago, but I felt no pain. Looking down, I saw that I was standing in water next to sticks and weird wood things. I picked them up and inspected them. The words "Wooden Planks" appeared. Hmm... I had no clue what these were. I switched to my sticks and smiled. I could fix my hair.

I don't know how I did it, but I fashioned the sticks into a comb. I felt accomplished as I tore through tangles in my hair. I was useful, Sky would see that. Another idea came to mind and I took out my flower. I tucked it behind my ear and checked my reflection in the water. Not exactly a proper accessory, but it was classy in a way. It was far better than what I had before. I smiled at myself, approving of my looks, and decided to find Sky.

I was pawing through vines looking for him when I heard a noise. Carefully, I tiptoed over to the general direction of the sound and his behind a tree. I peered around the trunk and watches in awe. I boy was cutting through mobs with the most amazing sword skills. I watched as creepers, spiders, and cows alike fell to the ground and disappeared. His back was turned so I couldn't see his face, but even I could tell he was a good swordsman. There was something about the way he gripped his sword that made me see his skill. I watched in pure amazement.

He sliced through one last spider and leaned against a tree, panting a bit. "That was amazing!" I revealed my hiding spot and he jumped, but he eased up when he saw me. "There's something about your fighting that tells me you're good with a sword."

He stood up fully and walked over to me. "Nah, I'm not that great. It's a lot different than pushing buttons on a keyboard."

There was something so familiar about that face, it was like I had see. Him before... I gasped. "You're Mickey!"

He raised his eyebrows. "My name is Mike. Who are you exactly?"

I stuck out my hand. "Elle Meadows. You spilled chocolate on my dress, remember?"

He look as though trying to remember something. "Oh, right. Didn't you call me a nerd and shove me into a bush?"

I rolled my eyes. "Stop being dramatic. You make me sound mean."

"I'm just saying what happened, Elle. Maybe you are mean."

"I'm not mean!" I yelled. He closed his mouth. "Anyways, we could use someone like you to fight off mobs for us. Would you like to join my friend and I on our journey to survive?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm trying to find a way out of here, to be honest. I have this theory that if I go through the end portal it'll transport me to Earth."

"The end portal?" So this game did have an end!

"Yeah, you know, the enderdragon and stuff. Really hard to get to."

"You need to help us." I grabbed his wrist. "Come, follow me."

"You're dragging me somewhere against my will." He protested.

"I guess you don't know me. I do what I want." I walked him through the forest until we reached the mountain. I looked inside the hole and gasped at the size. "Sky! I'm back!"

He walked over from another room (yes, he even made rooms) and smiled. "Nice flower. Who's this?"

"This is Mike. Mike, this is-"

"You're SkyDoesMinecraft." He awed. I jut noticed that his jaw was dropped.

Sky laughed. "It's nice to find a fan who isn't a nine-year-old. Nice to meet you, Mike."

"You're actually here right now..." Mike fell backwards and fainted.

I tilted my head. "Now I'm kind of offended he didn't do that when he met me."

**It's the little comments like that that make me HATE HER. The best part is when I realize I came up with that line myself. Anyways, leave a review telling me all about your opinions on makeup in Minecraft, or even makeup in real life. I don't even know if that flower thing would work... Elle would find a way. **

**~Scarlett**


	7. The Truth Comes Out

**I have a story for you lovely viewers. So today, I was looking at Merome Fanfiction (Yes I ship #Merome ;) for inspiration for a future story I may or may not follow through with. I may have gotten a bit carried away, and here I am, nine hours later, scrambling to put together a chapter since I was distracted all day. Nine hours. Just... I have a problem. **

Sky and I dragged Mike over to a wall and propped him up. "So you weren't lying when you said you were a famous YouTuber." I said, breaking the silence.

He laughed, which I noticed he did a lot. "Yeah, I suppose you could consider seven million subscribers a lot."

My jaw dropped. "Seven million? That's a lot of nerds."

"They aren't all the stereotypical nerds you'd think of." He said defensively. "A lot of girls watch, too."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't associate with those types of girls."

He looked down at Mike as if he was trying to figure out what to do. "You know, Elle, you seem to have pretty high standards."

"Thanks." I flashed a smile.

"That wasn't really a compliment. How will you ever find people you like?" He asked incredulously.

"Oh, I already have. Back home, there's this guy named Vincent. Even though we have our ups and downs," I instinctively brought my hand to the bruise on my leg. "-we're still happy together. Vanessa and Camille..." Wait. They hated me.

"Who?" Sky asked while putting his head to Mike's chest. "Thank god, his breathing is returning to normal."

"Vanessa and Camille used to be my best friends, but I was too good for them." I kept my chin high while I thought about the real reason.

"Sure." Sky said. I was going to snap at him, but Mike coughed and his eyes flittered open.

"You're-" He started, but Sky shushed him.

"Yes, yes, I'm SkyDoesMinecraft. Please don't faint again." Mike nodded, but he had a giant grin plastered onto his face. "Now, how did you get here?"

It took Mike a second to realize he was supposed to answer. "Right. I, uh, well I went home after Elle pushed me-"

"Stop being dramatic. You're the reason I'm here." I said.

Sky ignored me. "She pushed you?"

Mike nodded. "After I spilled chocolate on her dress, but that's beside the point."

Sky gave me a quick glance that told me he was disappointed. "So you two knew each other before this happened."

"Not exactly." I replied.

Mike shrugged. "I mean, I knew of her, but only from the rumors around school."

"There's rumors about me?" I forgot about our current conversation completely.

"Well, you being so popular and all..."

"Tell me." I grabbed him by his shirt. "What are they?"

"Whoa, whoa!" Sky stepped in between us. "Elle, you need to calm down."

I crossed my arms across my chest. "He's the one who won't tell me what I want."

Sky sighed. "You need to stop threatening people. Do you do this often?"

"Actually..." Mike said. "That's kind of one of the rumors."

"What?" I asked, trying to stay as calm as possible.

He got a glint in his eye and started talking like he was telling a dramatic tale. "They say you can beat up anyone. You are stronger than anyone in the school, except for one person."

What on Earth was he talking about? "Who might that be?"

"Vincent."

I rolled my eyes. "Vincent doesn't overpower me, we're equals. And that's crazy talk about me being strong like that. Girls can't be stronger than guys."

Sky sighed once again. "You have a very stereotypical view on the world, you know that? People who play video games are nerds. Girls who do guy things are a disgrace. And now your acting very anti-feminist."

"No I don't!" I lied. "I only say what is reality."

"You keep on thinking that, Elle." Mike said. "I can kinda see why Vincent was interested in a girl like you."

I raised my eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He waved his hand. "Oh, nothing. Anyways, back to how I got here. I went home and got on my computer. I wasn't going to the winter formal due to my lack of a date, but whatever. So I started playing Minecraft and I went on your sever, Sky." Sky smiled slightly. "I was playing Sky Games when the chat froze and I was transported here. I made a sword and worked on my sword skills, and here I am."

"That sounds completely unrelated to how I got here." I commented. "That really doesn't help us much."

"Oh well." Mike said. "Listen, we need someone to protect us from mobs. I'll take first watch."

Sky shook his head. "We just met you, and..."

"You can join me if you're unsure." Mike said. "I promise I won't faint again."

Sky smiled. "Alright. Elle, I know we don't have a proper bed, but try to get some sleep."

I put my hands in my hips. "You want me to sleep on dirt in my white dress?"

Sky came over and lightly pushed me to the ground. "Sleep. Now."

I rolled my eyes. I didn't have enough energy to fight. They both moved to the front of the room and kept watch, talking quietly amongst themselves. I lay my head down to go to sleep, but then I heard it. They had said my name. I froze and listened in on their conversation.

"-I mean, I'm just worried. I didn't say exactly what the rumors said."

"What could possibly be so bad?"

"They say... They say Vincent abuses her. And I know we just met her, but I feel a bit protective of her. I knew her before she became this popular girl, and I see my sister in her, to be honest."

What was he talking about? I didn't know Mike at all. And Vincent didn't abuse me. Sure, he got mad sometimes, but for very valid reasons. He always apologizes afterwards. I tuned back in to what they were saying.

"I barely know her as well, and although she is a noob I can tell she isn't a complete idiot. She wouldn't be dating an asshole."

"Listen, you don't know the kid. Tall, charming, but mysterious. Literally one failing grade away from getting held back. He used to be real nice before he went crazy over family troubles. I don't know what's true and what's not."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sky shake his head. "it's a shame. How'd you know her beforehand?"

"She probably doesn't even remember, but my sister was her best friend in middle school. They were closer to twins than we were, and she actually was my twin. They did everything together. Back then, Elle was perfect. Nice, funny, pretty... if only she had stayed that way."

"Why wouldn't she remember her best friend?"

I heard Mike sigh. "In eighth grade, my sister disappeared. Everyone seemed to just... Forget she existed. I never could, though. Every time I looked at Elle I saw her."

"I wonder why she changed so much."

"Me too. I guess the popularity got to her head and she became convinced she needed makeup and a boyfriend at all times."

Something in my gut tightened and I stood up. I didn't want to hear anything else they had to say. I walked over to then, trying to hide my face. "I'll take watch now." I whispered. They looked at me quizzically before handing me a sword and going to lay down. I sat down on my knees and wiped a tear off my cheek before focusing on the mobs.

**It's 11:30 at night, so I probably just messed up the plot without realizing it. Whatever, I'll discover that when I read this over tomorrow morning... Hi future me!**

**Tell me in the reviews if you think Mike's opinion on Elle was accurate! Trust me, the opinion will change. I'm laughing IRL because I know something you don't. Ugh I need sleep. **

**~Scarlett**


	8. Contemplating Life

**I didn't update yesterday :( I kept trying to go into my manage stories tab but it wouldn't let me open it, did that happen to anyone else? I was going to write two chapters for today, but I like seeing your feedback before I write. Enjoy le chapter!**

I sat hugging my knees to my chest, my sword rested across my shins. There seemed to be a lack of mobs tonight: That was probably why they let me guard without any objection, even Mike knew my sword skills were less than great. I stayed alert at first, but slowly began drowning in my own thoughts and worries. I felt like the world had come crashing down on me. Everything I was had been insulted. I felt a strange pain in my chest as their conversation replayed over and over in my head. Where to start, I didn't even know...

I felt helpless and tired. The rumors obviously weren't true, even the weakest of the weak could beat me up right now. Which led me to thinking about Vincent. His name made me smile despite my sadness. He was just so perfect. I couldn't believe anyone thought he'd hurt me. Accidents happen, but he'd never intentionally try to make me upset. I frowned at their description of him, they really seemed to be hypocritical. The handsome, charming, yet mysterious boy with family issues abuses his girlfriend? Talk about a stereotype. At least the ones I used were true and not fake like this.

I remember when I first met Vincent. It was back when I was a freshman. That was the year I became who I am today...

_I walked down the corridor, my head tilted towards the floor. My books were hugged against my chest, as per usual. I was going as quickly as I could so I wouldn't miss my classes. God forbid I be late._

_I was thinking about my extra credit project when I felt a bump and my books fell to the floor. "Sorry." I mumbled, crouching down to pick them up. A larger hand met mine. I looked up to see warm chocolate-brown eyes staring into mine. I blushed a bit._

_"No problem." He said in the most adorable voice. "Elle, right?"_

_I nodded. "You're Vincent, obviously."_

_I knew who he was, I mean, everyone did. The cute guy of our grade. The one everyone wanted. Girls wanted to date him, guys wanted to be his best friend, but he usually kept to himself. I pushed my glasses back onto the bridge of my nose and tried my best to not look nervous._

_He smiled at me. "Hey, I wanted to talk to you anyways. I was wondering if you wanted to help me study for the math exam."_

_I raised my eyebrows. Was he trying to ask me out? No, not me. No one ever talked to me. "Sure. When?"_

_"How about 5 at the Ice Cream Bar?"_

_That was where everyone went on dates in my town. Breathe, Elle, breathe. I put on a smile. "See you then!"_

_"It's a date." He winked at me and my stomach started doing flips. Did he just... I was in shock. I quickly gathered my books and skipped to my next class, feeling like I was the luckiest girl in the world._

Back then, I was a complete geek. Glasses, books, and grades; that was my life. It made me shudder at how little I cared about appearance. Vincent always told me that brains were for ugly people who wanted to feel useful. I owed my realization of this to him. How could a guy who made me a better person be bad?

That wasn't the only thing that was bugging me. Mike had said I'd changed. He said that in eight grade I was nice, funny, and pretty. You see, the problem with that sentence was the word "was". It should have been I _am_ nice, funny, and pretty. Besides, I was ugly back then. Under-eye circles, **(I have them, did I just insult myself?) **bad hair, no makeup, and my clothes were awful. It's a wonder Mike even payed attention to me at all. Somehow, though, I didn't remember him or his sister. I had practically forgotten everything about middle school except for my terrible appearance, but still. How could anyone forget their best friend?

Maybe Mike was lying. Maybe he was convinced I was best friends with his sister but I wasn't. My vague memories of eighth grade told me that year I did hang out in a small group of people. It made me curious how I became so alone in high school. A little alarm went off in my head, telling me that memory loss really was bad. I felt so frustrated with myself. Why couldn't I remember something from five years ago? Think, Elle, think! Who was your best friend?

Anthea. The name suddenly sprung into my mind. It didn't seem to fit Mike's sister, but I remember hanging out with a girl named Anthea. And, and... Madeline! Anthea Wood and Madeline Monroe. We used to call her Marilyn Monroe, I remembered that. But who was Mike's sister? I thought for a while, but I couldn't remember her. It bugged me, considering how he said that no one else remembered her. It made me even more upset.

A zombie groaned and I raised my sword. To my left, I saw the guilty mob. I crept over tentatively and waited for the right moment to strike. The zombie inched closer and closer, until I finally struck him on the head. Three hits and my stone sword tore through just air, a something Sky called "rotten flesh" sitting at my feet. On the way to this pond Sky and I had quickly discussed discussed fighting strategy. He had shown me how to hold a sword as well. The feeling of killing the zombie by myself was, well, satisfying. I had forgotten all my anger for just a moment.

I looked around for more mobs, wanting that feeling again. I saw a herd of cows to the left. Though I knew they wouldn't fight back, it was still something to kill. I didn't even bother sneaking up on them and I sunk my sword into all five of them. Pieces of what looked like steak sat on the ground. I picked it up, confirming my guess, and sighed. I was a vegetarian, but I supposed the other two could eat it. I went back to my spit against the door and jabbed my sword into the ground. I saw the sky painted with pink and orange in the distance and breathed a sigh of relief. Morning was here.

**I considered calling this chapter "Killing is Addicting" but people might whet concerned about me. I'm not crazy, I swear. **

**In the reviews let me know if you've ever overheard someone talking about you! I did once, but they said nice things :) I felt all special inside. **

**~Scarlett**


	9. This Chapter Doesn't Deserve a Name

**I know this is short, I'm sorry! My teachers have committed the crime called homework again. Aside from weekends, I may have to update every other day. I know, I know: What will you do without my beautiful writing every day? I'm sure you can make it. **

As I stood up, realization hit me: I'd have to actually talk to these guys to survive. I wasn't sure if they knew how much I had heard. All I knew, though, was that they weren't happy with who I was. Obviously they'd be annoyed if I continued to act like this. Wait a minute... That was perfect. As revenge I'd be the person they hated.

I felt a pain in my stomach and I groaned. I was starting to get really hungry, and there didn't seem to be any apples around. What else could I eat? I suppose the meat was always an option, but I was still a vegetarian and not planning on changing that. I sighed and went back to our little room, setting down the sword at the doorway. Mike was up, and Adam slept peacefully in the corner.

"Hey," Mike said as I walked over. "Were there many mobs last night?"

"Nope. I did kill this cow, though." I tossed him the meat. "Do we have anything that's not meat?"

He shook his head. "We really don't have anything. Why?"

"Oh, I don't eat meat. I'm vegetarian."

He turned around and looked at me. "That's unfortunate, but isn't a vegetarian someone who won't eat anything they wouldn't kill?" I nodded. He tossed me a piece of raw meat. "You killed that cow. Eat up."

"But-"

"No buts." He said firmly. "Starving to death would be pretty pathetic."

"Hey, only I can use the word pathetic!" I said, examining the meat.

"I don't see your legal papers saying you own it." He had returned to his work by now.

This whole being annoying this wasn't working. After the nice things Mike had said about me... I couldn't be too bad. He seemed to be ignoring the fact, either that or he's clueless I heard them. Two could play that game. I'd ignore the things they said, maybe even forget it happened. I had the ability to do that, to forget things happened. It was extremely useful for when traumatic events occurred.

After turning the beef over and over again in my hand, I eventually decided that starving wasn't the best way to live my life here. I took a small bite from it and observed its flavor. It wasn't actually that bad, to be honest. From what I remembered, steak tastes better, but it was pretty good.

I slowly nibbled on it, all the while eyeing Mike. He seemed pretty calm, considering we were stuck in this game. That's what it was to him and Adam, I suppose. A game that they were familiar with. It wasn't just a game to me, though. It was a challenge. Doing exactly what I hate, with the looming threat of death over my head? And they still thought it was fun. Oh, look at me. I'm trapped in a video game I obsess over every day! My life is amazing! **(If any of you read that in a dumb voice then I love you.)**

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"Making a pickaxe." He answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. There was a long silence.

"Should we wake Sky up?" I continued.

A smirk appeared on his face. "Watch and learn." He leaned over to the general direction of Sky's sleeping body. "Adam, I have budder!"

I rolled my eyes, but to my shock Sky bolted upwards. "Where? Where is the budder?"

Mike turned back to me. "He's awake now."

"Morning." I said. "Sleep well?"

Sky nodded. "I'm surprised that you don't have dreams in Minecraft."

I laughed. "Pixels don't dream."

In return, Sky frowned. "Are you still insisting that we're a bunch of computer codes?"

"Yep." I smiled. "I follow logic, reason, and my own gut. We don't really exist."

"Then why do we feel pain? Hunger? Emotion?"

"Because whatever type of voodoo magic got us in here is really strong."

Sky sighed. "You just contradicted your- Never mind." He had a hopeless look on his face. "We should go mining as soon as Mike finishes those picks."

"Mining?" I echoed people a lot.

"The game is called MINEcraft, Elle."

"Sorry." I said defensively. "What's that craft part then?"

Mike joined in. "You can craft different items with resources you find. I'm crafting right now. Normally it's automatic, but tools take longer."

"You really are a noob." Sky added.

"Thanks." I said sarcastically. "Do you always insult people?"

"Not at all." He replied. "I don't like hurting people."

"Why do you keep calling me a noob?"

"Why do you care about my opinions so much?"

I had opened my mouth to say something but I closed it. Why did I care? These were random people I had met who I was using for freedom. Nowhere in that plan did it say to make friends or value their opinions, so why was I doing so? It didn't matter what they said about me.

"Good point." I commented. "Are we ready to go yet?"

Mike nodded and handed me a pickaxe. It felt warm and uncomfortable in my grip. "Ready?" He asked. "Let's go."

**This was a pathetic filler chapter. I don't even have anything to say. Um... Tell me about your first mining trip. I fell into a hole and died. **

**~Scarlett **


	10. What's This Blue Stuff?

**I am in such a bad mood :( Has anyone ever seen the movies Cyberbully or Trust? I suggest checking them out (I warn you that Cyberbully has strong language and Trust is a very adult situation.) They're both pretty good, but they make you so sad! I legit never cry after anything, but I teared up at these. Never watch a sad movie at night, especially when you have to rage over the main character's stupidity *cough Trust cough* Seriously, here's a lesson: If a guy you met online constantly says he's older than what he originally told you, asks to meet you in public, and then buys you... Revealing clothing, you never get in a car with him, right? Not according to this movie. **

**Oh wait, I was supposed to be writing an A/N for this chapter? Um... Disregard the first paragraph and enjoy. **

We walked for half the day before reaching what Mike called a cave. I looked into the dark room and frowned. "You want me to go in there? It looks so cold and clammy and gross."

"Man up." Sky said. "You can't obsess over how weird things are here forever."

"I'm girl with no intention of turning into a man, thank you very much." I snapped.

Mike rolled his eyes. "It's an expression, but that's beside the point. C'mon, we need iron if we're planning on getting to the End." He entered the cave and I sighed.

"Don't we even have anything to light it up?"

Sky hesitantly walked into the cave. "C'mon, I'll teach you how to mine and then make some torches."

"That's a bit dangerous..." I muttered quietly enough that he didn't hear me. I cautiously walked behind him, my head swiveling back and forth to check for monsters. It seemed safe, so I followed him to a patch of black flecks on stone. He pointed to it with his pick.

"This is coal. Now, you don't need to mine too much of it, but grabbing a stack would be great."

"What's a stack?" I asked. What was it, like, the amount I could carry in my hands?

"A stack is 64 pieces. We needs lots of it for smelting." He answered. "Oh, and smelting is where we extract iron from the iron ore." I closed my mouth, he had answered my question. "Alright, iron is like this but tan. Look around on your own, don't die, and shout if you need us."

I nodded and went on my own way. Looking around, I saw gold, red, and light blue flakes, but no tan. My eyes scanned the cave but found nothing of use. I sighed as I turned a corner, but my eyes hit the wall and lit up. Tan flakes were stuck in some stone. So this was iron... Interesting. "I found some!" I called out. Grasping the stone pickaxe, I began mining like Sky had shown me. My arm tired quickly and my grip was awkward, but soon I saw the little cracks in the stone until it flew towards me and disappeared. A smile swept my face. I wanted to be good at something, and this seemed pretty easy. I went to work mining the other blocks.

A faint hissing noise echoed through the small cavern I was in, but I ignored it. It was probably just me going crazy. I got to the last iron block and stretched my torso to reach it on the ceiling. "Elle, I'm bringing you an iron pick!" Mike called from somewhere far behind me. I lost my place and had to start again. As I continued to break it, I heard his footsteps come closer. The piece broke and suddenly a glowing orange liquid seeped through the hole. I gasped at the heat and stumbled backwards, but strong arms caught me. "I see you found a lava pool." He said in a low voice, almost like my discovery was a secret.

I blushed at my clumsiness. "Yeah, apparently I did." He didn't seem to be letting go of me, so I pushed myself back onto my feet. "Do you want the iron I got?"

"That depends." He laughed. "Are you planning on burning to death in lava?"

"No." I said, feeling irritated. "Just in case, though, here's the eight pieces I got."

He traded me an iron pickaxe. "This will mine faster."

I nodded. The sooner I was out of this death trap, the better. After looking around the cave, I found what Sky called a "stack" of iron and a stack of coal. I found out that the blue stuffs was mineable; In fact, it was something I could use.

"They have gemstones in this game?" I yelled as the word diamond flashed before my eyes.

Sky came running over. "What were you yelling about?"

I showed him the diamond. "You never mentioned gems."

His eyes were wide and focused in the sparkling gem. "You actually found the first diamond."

"There's more?"

He gave me an are-you-dumb look and I cringed. "Of course there is. I just can't believe you already-"

"What's that gold stuff? Is it actually gold?"

He clenched his teeth. "Budder. It's budder."

"Oh." I said simply. "I was going to make a golden chain for my diamond necklace."

"You were going to make a diamond necklace?" He yelled. "Are you dumb?"

"Whoa." I said. "What else do you need it for?"

"Tools! The End! The Nether! We need every single diamond we can get!"

I sniffed. "I'm sorry, I didn't know..."

"Maybe you shouldn't have been playing the game, then, noob."

His hands immediately went up to cover his mouth, but the damage had been done. I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyebrows. "Oh really? I'm a noob? I wouldn't want to be a burden or anything."

"Elle, wait-"

"If I'm such a noob I should just leave." I said angrily.

"Elle, I didn't mean that."

"Goodbye, jerk." I said as I walked towards the entrance to the cave. As a second thought, I stopped and looked over my shoulder. "And I'm taking your stupid diamond with me!"

My head peered outside into the darkness that was night. I saw a skeleton in the distance, but my only weapon was a pickaxe since they didn't fully trust me with one of our two swords. I sighed, trying to think of somewhere to wait out the night. I looked around at the endless row of trees. Some of them had vines... I could climb those. I tested it out and I was right.

I reached the top of the tree and looked around. I saw a swarm of zombies... All headed towards me. Soon enough there were all sorts of mobs at the base of my tree. What had I done?

**Next chapter may be longer since I actually have a plot. New characters, if I go with my plan. Tell me in the reviews how you think Elle's relationship with the boys is going (prior to screaming and leaving, that is.)**

**~Scarlett, bringer of rants and boring chapters **


	11. Friendship With Weird Strangers

_*Oh My Gosh! We reached 1,000+ views already! I love you guys so much. Back to the normal A/N*_

**I'm surprised all of you think Elle will come crawling back, begging for mercy. C'mon, she's a very independent person... Who am I kidding? She's so dead. Or maybe not...**

I looked around the treetops, trying to decide what to do. I honestly had no clue what I was doing. Mike and Sky had taught me how to craft some basic items, but that was it. I was on my own. I sighed in exasperation and scanned the area for something useful. It was hopeless.

I sat down on the tree and pulled out my comb. Working on my looks always made me feel better. I went through all the snarls in my hair, trying not to cry at how messy it was. I put that away and pulled out my red lipstick. Finally feeling like I was presentable, I took out the diamond and turned it over in my hands. "You better help me, I lost my only chance of survival for you." I muttered, staring at my reflection in the shiny surface. I was unrecognizable.

I felt the warmth of the sun on my back and looked up. It was finally morning again. The sound of zombies dying filled the air below me. That wouldn't do me much good, I was still clueless. Maybe I wanted the monsters to kill me. It might transport me back to the real world. 'Or it could backfire and kill you for real.' A voice in my head chimed in. I told it to shut up and looked out at the trees. One of the ones behind me was turning orange... Were those flames? That tree was on fire! It wasn't the sun's warmth at all!

I felt flames swirling around my back and I yelped. Running over the trees, I headed straight away from that sight. I didn't know how it happened, but I wasn't planning on burning to death. I ran across treetops, the thought of how I made the jumps barely grazing my mind. I kept on sprinting until I couldn't anymore, and I collapsed onto a tall oak tree. I felt my stomach rumble from hunger and I sighed.

I bit into one of my last pieces of steak and thought about what I'd do. I had just escaped that tree on my own, so I didn't feel completely useless. It wasn't exactly what you'd call a challenge but it gave me hope. I finished the meat and felt full again, but I didn't want to run. Maybe I could just stay on this tree until this was all over. When would this be over? No one had ever told me if there was an end. Was I stuck here forever?

I felt the tears involuntarily slide down my cheek. "Stop it, now's not the time to cry." I scolded, but it didn't help. Soon I was a sobbing mess. I hugged my knees to my chest and rested on my side. My hair became a mess again but I didn't care. I didn't even care how I looked anymore. It wouldn't matter what I looked like if I died here. Nothing mattered anymore. My pride, my looks, my personality. It had taken away the only two people I knew, probably the only other ones here. I had screwed up. God, I was so stupid! To think they would just accept me, guide me through this. Yeah, keep on dreaming. Human nature is selfish. They only wanted to get themselves out of this. I was just an annoyance, simply along for the ride. They never really cared about me. Who would?

A voice interrupted my train of thought. "Shut up already! Go away!"

"Cause baby, tonight! The creepers gonna steal all our stuff again!" A second voice sang.

"Be quiet, you aren't helping!"

I wiped my tears off my face and peered down. There was a man with odd colored skin wearing a turquoise T-shirt and blue pants- That was a mistake. Trailing behind him was a guy in black and white with red sunglasses much smaller than Sky's. I observed curiously as the man yelled at the sunglasses dude.

"If you had just stopped narrating everything I did we wouldn't be in this situation!" He yelled.

"Dig up diamonds and craft those diamonds-" The other man said in a different voice.

"No! I won't craft anything you tell me to!"

And that's how it went on for a while. One man yelling, the other singing. Eventually I decided to stop this. "Shut up, both of you!" I called down to them.

The both looked around in confusion. "Who's there?"

I jumped off my tree, catching a vine on the way. "I'm Elle Meadows, and you are?"

"Steve." The one in a mismatched outfit replied.

I looked at the other guy. "Does he tall at all, or-"

"I can speak." He answered in a voice similar to when he rapped. He reached out for a handshake. "I'm CaptainSparklez."

I cautiously took his hand. "Is that supposed to be a joke?"

"It was a dare." He said defensively. "It was a dare."

I eyed his outfit. "Is that an Usher costume? Is that why you sing everything?"

He nodded. "I'm glad someone appreciates my singing." He glared at Steve briefly.

These guys were weird, but what other choice did I have? "Why are you guys here anyways?"

Steve frowned. "You see, this bozo thought it would be funny to sing about me getting attacked by a creeper. And I actually did while I was mining. So now I'm running for my life, except I kinda ran outta food."

I tossed them each a steak. "I see. Were you two magically transported into this game as well?"

"Game? This is life, girl." Steve answered. Behind him CaptainSparklez was nodding. Interesting... It appeared that Steve was from here. Maybe he could help me find the end.

"Right." I agreed. "Hey, Steve, do you know if there's an end?"

"The End?" He repeated. "I've heard legends, yes, but I'm not sure. They say that you follow the Eyes of Ender and find a portal. Many have tried, yet none have returned."

Perfect. "How do we get these Eyes of Ender?"

"You have to-"

"Shut up, Jordan." Steve interrupted. His name must be Jordan. "You have to combine blaze rods with enderpearls."

"Enderpearls and blaze rods?" I echoed, unsure of what he was talking about. "What are those?"

He smiled. "I'm sure you've seen Endermen, no?"

"The tall guys with glowing eyes." Jordan explained.

"Yes, yes. Occasionally they drop enderpearls. And the blaze rods are tough to get. You have to go to hell, also known as the Nether. There you'll find many monsters, but all you need to kill are the flaming ones."

"I have to kill monsters who are on fire?" I exclaimed. "That's ridiculous."

He tilted his head. "Are you from here?" I looked at Jordan, trying to decided what to say. He shrugged, so I nodded. "Hmm. You don't act like it."

"Let's just start gathering supplies." I said quickly.

"Oh, you expect us to help you?" He asked. I smiled eagerly. "Fine, but you have to do something for me."

"Anything." I agreed.

"You have to help me kill a creeper once and for all."

I nodded. It seemed simple enough. My new friends and I started gathering more wood, Jordan humming his song in the background.

**I bet you can't guess who I'm adding next based on something that has Revenge on it... Leave a review telling me who and where you found it. I'm tired, three hours of sleep, not counting the day, doesn't work for me. Goodbye my lovely readers!**

**~Scarlett**


	12. Hallucinations

**I'm disappointed no one guessed it :( Oh well. There is gonna be that one person who guesses it five days later. **

I collected a stack of logs before I looked around at the others. Steve was furiously punching a tree while Jordan sat fishing. I decided to go talk to Jordan, Steve seemed a bit angry at the moment.

"You can fish in this game?" I asked, sitting down beside him.

"Yeah, but no one ever does." He laughed. "I've managed to catch nineteen fish so we'll have food tonight."

"That's good." I said. "So how did you and Steve get here?"

"Steve was a part of the game." He answered. "I, on the other hand, was playing Minecraft and listening to my parody."

"Your parody?" I asked.

He smiled. "It's called Revenge. I made it for my YouTube channel. Call me narcissistic, but I like listening to my songs. And now it seems like I'm living through it." He laughed. "I'm regretting torturing the characters in it."

"Your YouTube channel? Do you play Minecraft on it?" I asked eagerly.

"Sometimes." He answered. "It's my main focus on my channel."

"Do you know SkyDoesMinecraft?" I continued.

He tilted his head. "Yes, I do. Why?"

"He's here, in this game."

Jordan's jaw dropped. "So it isn't just us. Adam's here?"

I smiled. "Yeah. I was with him and a kid named Mike, but we had a... Disagreement."

"What-" Jordan started, but I shot him a look saying I didn't want to talk about it.

I looked at his outfit and frowned. "Why were you wearing that in real life?"

"I wasn't." He replied in a confused tone. "Why? Is that what you were wearing back home?"

I nodded. "I was going to a dance. But why do you have that on?"

"Maybe because it's my skin." He said, not sounding sure of himself. "Oh, a skin is an outfit for your Minecraft character." He explained.

"I'm pretty sure Jack didn't have a girly skin." I said.

"Who's Jack?"

"My boyfriend's brother."

"Oh." He said simply. "Why were you playing on his computer?

I sighed. "I was forced to. Trust me, I don't play games like this."

"That explains a lot."

"You know, everyone says that." I said. "Is it that obvious?"

He shrugged. "Just a little..."

"Guys, I have enough wood!" Steve announced, interrupting our conversation. I looked at Jordan and smiled weakly, turning my attention back to Steve. "Now we need to mine. I have iron picks for all of us."

"No thanks, I have one." I smiled. "And I have a diamond."

Steve gasped. "A diamond?"

"Dig up diamonds and craft those diamonds, make some armor-"

"Shut up!" Steve told Jordan.

"I'm sorry, I can't control my outbursts." Jordan said apologetically.

Steve rolled his eyes. "Anyways. There's a cave over here, so let's go."

As we walked, I took notice of our surroundings. There were flowers everywhere, some as tall as me. Trees reached high above my head, unlike any of the other trees I'd seen here. There was also something white on the ground... Snow? I wasn't cold for some reason, even though I was wearing a short-sleeve white dress. How did anyone understand this game?

We reached the entrance of the cave, and I felt accomplished since I knew what I was doing. I mined a decent amount of iron and coal before I felt tired. I sat against a wall, pulling out a porkchop I had gotten earlier. I happily bit into it, thinking of how my habits had changed. Eating meat, actually doing work. Maybe I should get players some maids, then they wouldn't have to work. I could help this community. I mean, even nerds deserve maids.

Steve yelled (very loudly, might I add) for us to come meet his to explore what he called an abandoned mineshaft. I looked around at the cobwebs and shuddered. Thankfully, Jordan and Steve were in front of me to cut down webs. I let my mind wander until I started feeling sick. My knees were shaking and I was unsteady, but I figured I was imagining it. Soon, though, my eyes started feeling weird. I felt my legs collapse underneath me as I fell to the ground, a single yell escaping my lips. Jordan and Steve turned around, but I couldn't answer them. I was in a daze, a scene playing before my eyes.

_"This is the girl, yes?" A man in pure white with a mustache and beard spoke. _

_"I believe so. I assume you have everything in order as well." The other man, who looked like Steve with glowing white eyes, replied. I shuddered. _

_"Of course, brother." They were siblings? "She's finally split up from the group, but unfortunately she's found new friends. We need to get her alone as soon as possible. Can you do that?"_

"Absolutely."

The visions faded and my eyes fluttered open. "What happened?" I asked drowsily.

"You passed out for about five minutes." Jordan explained.

"And you made funny noises in your sleep!" Steve chimed in. Jordan glared at him.

"You were perfectly fine. Do you want to rest somewhere for the night?"

I slowly stood up. "Yeah, I'm fine." I lied. "Let's go."

**Leave a review telling me if you know who the new characters/visions are! I'm tired. **

**~Scarlett**


	13. Mining and Sleep

**My dog kept me up. I don't even have the energy to write. This chapter's half the size of normal? In the words of a great bacca: Sorry I'm not sorry. Ugh, I want ASF back and not these jokes :( GAAAAHHH I'm tired. **

_*Check out modeluchosen1's new story! I'm sort of/not really assisting with it, but he's amazing ! Follow and favorite it!*_

My head spun as we kept walking, but I ignored it. Otherwise I was fine, if you can consider recovering from a hallucination fine. We had split up at the end of the mineshaft after Jordan constantly pestered me about me health. Finally, I agreed to stay within fifty blocks of him. I needed some time to myself.

Who were those men? One in white with a beard, and Steve with glowing eyes... Could it be Steve? I doubted it. And they were talking about a girl... Me... What on Earth could they want? It made me uneasy, the way they seemed to have a plan. They wanted me to separate from my group. So they could do what, exactly? Pick me off and kill me? There weren't any clear motives. Why would they want me, Elle Meadows, some girl who just wasn't lucky?

I sighed and mined through another block of budder. I had been here for so long with no hopes of return. Had my friends forgotten about me? Had my dear Vincent given up the hopes of me coming back? I didn't even know what state I was in back on Earth. Maybe I had simply appeared to be dead. Death by Minecraft: What a great way to die.

There were so many problems I needed to solve. How would I leave here? Would I ever go back to Mike and Sky? How would I help Steve kill a creeper? Why had I forgotten my best friend?

That one bugged me the most. Just four years ago, I was practically twins with this girl, yet I didn't know her name. What kind of person does that? I felt extremely upset. I was way too young for memory loss. And this girl had disappeared somehow. Just vanished. No one else remembered her, or acknowledged her existence. One person forgetting is bad, but a whole school? Unrealistic. The question stayed in the back of my head, nagging me throughout the whole trip.

I was just finishing a vein of coal when pick pieces flew everywhere. I instinctively covered my face with my arms. When I peered out, there seemed to be no trace of my tool. It was gone. "Stupid game!" I yelled. Suddenly, I felt heat. I turned around and saw hit lava rushing towards me. "That wasn't there a minute ago!" I whisper-yelled as I started sprinting away from it. "Jordan!"

I ran for a while until I saw him. "Jordan!"

"What is it?" He asked me. "Did you collapse again?"

"No, worse." I said. "I was mining when my pick exploded. Then lava randomly spawned and I almost got burnt."

He frowned. "Are you sure it wasn't there?"

I nodded. "Positive. I was mining budder in that area before."

"Budder?" He chuckled. "Did Adam teach you that one?"

"Why?"

Jordan smiled. "That's just what he calls it. It's technically called gold."

"It is gold?" I asked. "I thought it was but he insisted it was budder."

"Adam is a bit... Strange. Don't mention anything about squids around him, by the way."

"Okay..." I said cautiously. "What do we do now that we're done mining?"

He shrugged. "Find Steve and get a house."

"Mike, Sky, and I were headed towards a village before, could that help?"

He thought for a moment. "I got a few emeralds, so we could trade. They'd probably have food, too."

"Shall we, then?"

He nodded. "But where's Steve?"

"Steve!" I called out. "Steve?"

"Ahhh!" A feminine voice screamed. Considering I was the only girl here... I looked around for the source. "Help me!"

Steve came running out of a miniature cave, his arms high in the air. I tilted my head and studied him. He seemed to be in some sort of distress. "Are you okay?"

He stopped and began panting. "Mining... Creepers... Explosions..."

"Why do you have such an issue with creepers?"

"Because they're the devil." He answered, his voice back to normal.

"They aren't even that bad."

His jaw dropped. "What do you mean, 'aren't even that bad'?" He mocked. "They're terrible!"

I rolled my eyes. "Sure. Can we get out of this cave now?"

Jordan had entered the cavern by now and was nodding in agreement. "I'm tired as well. Could we sleep somewhere?"

I dug out a hole in the wall. "Here. Who wants to keep watch?"

Steve raised his hand. "I will."

Jordan and I climbed into the small space and laid down. I probably skills vs made it bigger. Despite its size, I could slowly feel my body dozing off. Soon I entered a dark and dreamless sleep.

**Writing about sleep is difficult when you're tired. Let me know in the reviews what your current annoyance level with Elle is on a scale from 1-10. I need sleep. **

**~Scarlett **


	14. Nightmares Make A Story Interesting

**Today was the last day of the first semester, and lots of kids stressed about grades. My teachers' solution? Give us a million tests over a two-day period. I'm sorry about the lack of updates, don't kill me please I fan! Slight writers block and stress don't go well ****together. **

**And I got 100+ reviews... What. My last story with modeluchosen2 (he's amazing, check his stories out!) took four months worth of PMs, writing, and arguing and only got 86. It's been under a month, people. Under a month. Just... I love you guys. **

Did I say dreamless? Yeah, I suppose I didn't have dreams. I had nightmares. My deepest and darkest fears rose to the surface of my mind. Sounds pleasant, right? It is possibly the worst thing that could happen to a person. It went as follows:

_I was in school, Vincent and I were eating lunch together. Everything was great, just like normal. People stared, wishing they were me. Vanessa and Camille happily talked to us. I sipped on my water and Vincent ate chicken. The meat bugged me, of course, but I didn't tell him. We were so happy to be together once again._

_Then, as I took a bite out of an apple, I felt myself transform. I was shorter, straighter, and my body was extremely awkward. My vision blurred, and I reached for my glasses which had somehow magically appeared. My makeup and designer clothes were replaced with 99 cent lip gloss and cheap jeans. I gasped as everyone got up and started laughing at me. Mike, Sky, Jordan, and Steve were there as well, laughing at my failure._

_"You're a noob!" Sky and Jordan called out._

_"You aren't even pretty anymore." Mike said._

_"You make funny noises when you sleep." Steve added. It started a chain reaction of complaints._

_"You're a bitch!"_

_"You aren't even cool!"_

_"You don't deserve friends!"_

_"You've changed!" My heart broke at the two familiar voices who stood out from the crowd. I slowly backed into a wall until my beloved Vincent towered over me. I felt relief, he'd protect me._

_"Who would ever want to be your boyfriend?" He spat, shoving me harder into the wall. He then kicked my shins right where my bruise was and I fell to the ground, sobbing. They all laughed and pointed, but I didn't care anymore. I cried until their laughter faded out, leaving me with nothing but the sounds of my sobbing..._

_"Wake up."_

_I looked around, still trapped in my dream world. Jordan was in front of me talking. "Elle, come on. Wake up! Elle-"_

I bolted upright in a cold sweat. Jordan was above me with a worried look on his face. "What happened?" I asked shakily. I looked around and noticed they'd built a house around me, and we were somehow above ground.

"You were screaming and crying." He explained. "Elle, what's wrong? Did something happen after you passed out yesterday?"

"It was just a nightmare." I replied as calmly as I could. "Nothing to worry about."

He frowned. "Elle. You sounded like you were getting murdered."

"It felt like it." I muttered.

I guess Jordan heard since he sat down next to me. "Come on, tell me all about it."

I sighed. "It was just all of my fears combined into one dream, okay? I'm perfectly fine. It was stupid."

"Screaming, shaking, and crying isn't stupid."

"I'm fine." I waved it off. "Don't worry about me. It was just a dream, it's not true."

Except for the noob part.

Vanessa and Camille saying I've changed.

And Mike saying I wasn't amazing anymore, people calling me names, and Vincent kicking me. It was an accident in real life, but still...

"Shut up!" I yelled to myself. I must've made a weird face because Jordan looked at me strangely. "I'm fine." I repeated aloud. "What time is it?"

"Around 4, but Elle-"

"I'll go kill some mobs for food. We're running low, right?" I grabbed my stuff without waiting for an answer.

For some reason, whenever something traumatic happened I felt the need to be alone and think. When Sky and Mike talked about me, I spent half the night sitting outside and thinking. Now I wanted to go murder innocent animals to get my mind straightened out. It probably wasn't the best option, leaving the situation all the time, but it worked for me. I held my iron sword in front of me steadily, ready to attack. Luckily it was turning daytime and I only had to deal with a few zombies.

I killed a total of twenty pigs and fifteen cows before I decided to take a break. I sat under a tree, thinking about how far I'd come. Back a few days ago, I'd been a scared and helpless girl who new nothing of Minecraft. Now I was a scared, slightly helpless girl who knew a bit about Minecraft. It made me feel accomplished inside. I had figured out a way to survive, whether it be to partner with random strangers or not. I grabbed a rose and began making more lipgloss, continuing my thoughts as I pounded. I'd finally done it. I, Elle Meadows, had survived a nerd game.

I jumped straight up. I must have been going crazy. For a minute, it seemed like I actually cared if I'd beat a nerds game. Snap out of it, Elle! Nerd games don't matter. Your goal is to leave and to get back to Vincent. Your lovely, innocent Vincent. He must be worried sick right now. He's so caring.

I was talking to myself. Oh god, I'd reached that point. I angrily grabbed my head and screamed. "Make it stop!" I said in a high-pitched voice unlike my own. "Make the voices stop!" I slid back against my tree and tried to hold in my tears. 'This is so unfair.' I thought to myself. 'Now, along with being trapped here, I'm going insane.'

My body ached and my stomach hurt from lack of food. I took a bite of chicken. Suddenly, I felt a stabbing pain and needed to throw up. I stood up unsteadily and began stumbling towards our new house. I did my best not to lose my breakfast as the world spun around me. I spotted our door and burst inside, collapsing in a corner and groaning.

"Elle? Are you passing out again?" Jordan rushed over to my side.

"Ha! You look stupid." Steve laughed.

Jordan glared. "Do you have the mentality of a five-year-old?" Steve stared off into space, not answering. Jordan rolled his eyes. "Are you okay?" He asked me.

I pointed and laughed. "There's two of you. Ha ha! #Twining!"

"What's a hashtag?" Steve asked.

"Elle, what did you do..." Jordan sighed, but then looked into my hand. "You ate a raw chicken? That's salmonella, Elle."

"Ha! SalmonELLa." I laughed.

"You're acting like you're drunk." Jordan said. "Wait, you didn't make alcohol, right? Salmonella and alcohol are never a good mix."

My vision cleared and I blinked furiously. "What happened? And why does my stomach hurt?"

Steve handed me a piece of steak. I bit into it greedily. "You got salmonella. Congrats!"

**Oh my gosh. She does have a soul! It's so hard to right about the opposite of yourself without implanting your own morals into the character. Why did I come up with this challenge... In the reviews let me know your scariest nightmare! I frequently have ones where all my friends and family die in a tornado... I need help. **

**~Scarlett**


	15. Time Travel?

**This morning, I had a realization. All of my current stories' plots revolve around abusive boyfriends. Speaking of my other stories... Enjoy this chapter with lots of references. **

For the next few days, we continuously kept mining and killing mobs. Diamonds, apparently, were scarce. Along with mine, we had only collected four others. Five diamonds didn't seem to be very good for three people. According to Jordan, the next thing we needed to do was go to the Nether. The Nether was Minecraftian hell, and you needed to make a portal of obsidian to go there. And to do that, you needed a diamond pick to mine it. We could make one, but Steve claimed going in with iron swords was a bad idea.

"You know, I'm what you'd consider a noob," I started. "But doesn't an iron sword do nearly as much damage as diamond?"

Steve's eyes widened. "No! And it's not for the damage, it's the progression! The Nether is meant for people who've gotten a decent amount of diamonds. We don't."

"Dig up diamonds, and-" Jordan chimed in.

I looked around at the people who my life depended on. Steve, the crazy guy who couldn't kill a creeper; and Jordan, who sang so much that I knew all the lyrics to his song by heart in under a week. If any of you are planning on getting stuck in Minecraft, here's a tip: Surround yourself with skilled, non-crazy players. Jordan was skilled but crazy. Steve was decent, but extremely crazy. It made me look pretty good, actually. Granted, I always looked good, but still. In this game you've got to be awful to be worse than me.

We had decided that today we'd go out hunting. We were low on food and there was a herd of cows a few hundred blocks away. Armed with our iron swords, we sprinted towards our destination. Suddenly, we heard yelling.

"Drop your weapons or I kill her."

I froze, not knowing who was talking and where. "Get down!" Jordan whispered, pulling me to the ground. We all ducked behind trees, slowly peering out to look at the scene.

A crowd of about ten people, all looking beat up from battle, stood around. Two of them were in front of the group, one threatening the other with a knife. I could see the others cared about this girl, they didn't seem eager to charge and get her injured.

The creepy one with a knife began talking again and I watched the girl squirm. She seemed to zone out after a bit. Was she... Dead? I saw her chest rise a bit, so I knew she was okay. I took a moment to study the others in the group. As I scanned the crowd, I came to a familiar face and gasped. That man... He looked like Sky! "Jordan!" I hissed. "Look, it's Sky!"

He looked in the same direction and raised an eyebrow. "Adam? What's he doing here with Jason, Mitch, and Jerome?"

"And why isn't he wearing the funny clothing?" I added. "He almost looks normal."

Jordan shrugged. "Wait a minute... Some of those people are their girlfriends! I recognize Mitch's, she has a pretty successful YouTube channel."

"If Sky's here, where is Mike?"

Jordan fell silent. "You know, Elle, I'm beginning to think this is a different Adam."

"They look the same and you think they're two different people?" I asked incredulously.

"No, not at all." He answered quickly. "I think maybe, this is Adam from the past or future."

I groaned. "First I find out you can teleport into video games, and now this? Time travel?"

"I'm not sure if I'm right." He said slowly. "But it would make sense."

"I never give up." A voice rang out strong and clear. I looked over and say the dying girl standing up to the lady holding her captive.

"We have to go help her!" I insisted, but Jordan put his hand in front of me and shook his head. 'You can do it!' I cheered the stranger on in my head.

"You're going to be in a lot of pain. Just die already!" The lady cackled.

"Not as much pain as this." I watched in amazement as the girl took out a pen. Wait, not a pen. A sword? She stabbed the lady in the chest and the lady began to disappear. Green swirls started to surrounded them, but not before I watched in horror as the girl was stabbed in the chest.

"No!" I yelled, rushing out from our hiding space towards her. I tried to reach her but she was gone. They were all gone, an odd mask left in their place. "She's probably dead, and I just watched." I sobbed.

Jordan and Steve ran up beside me, Steve panting a bit. "What just happened?" He yelled between breaths.

"We just witnessed the murder of a young girl." I stated sadly. It felt like I knew her face from somewhere.

"Elle, we couldn't do anything..." Jordan said softly.

"Yes, we could!" I said loudly and firmly. "We could've fought off her attacker. We could've bargained with her. Now our only clue to this is this mask."

Steve picked it up. "The eyes glow red."

"Excuse me?" I stood up and walked to where he was. "That didn't happen a minute ago."

I looked at Jordan for answers, but gasped at the sight. He didn't have a beard. "Jordan, you look younger... By about a month."

He made eye contact with me and gasped as well. "Your hair is shorter. What just happened?"

"I look normal." Steve interrupted. Jordan rolled his eyes.

"You've looked the same since five years ago, 2009. We, on the other hand, grow older." He raised his hand to his cheek and felt for the hair that used to be there, finding nothing. "Are we in the Matrix?"

I frowned. "I have a test. Jordan, run back to where we were before."

"I didn't hear a please-"

"Just go!" I ordered. He stuck out his tongue and obliged. I looked at him and gasped. "Your beard thing is back!"

He sprinted back over. "This area seems to be a month behind the time we were in. This is like a cheesy movie plot."

"This is real life, Jordan." I explained.

Steve sighed. "I'm bored. You too be smart and I'll have a staring contest with this mask. I'm going to win, I know it."

I rolled my eyes. Jordan frowned, deep in thought, but I saw his eyes light up with and idea. "What?"

"What if this place really is a month behind us? That explains how there's two Adams."

"Really..." I said. "If we base it on the day we left, then this is about February 11, 2014. It was March 11, 2014 when we left, right?"

He nodded. "I don't know how this is possible, but it makes me uncomfortable. Let's get out of here."

I nodded in agreement. Going into a video game was enough. I'd pass on the time travel opportunity.

**For those of you who wanted a third installment to the Carmen series, surprise! And to my lovely viewers who hated it and wanted it to be over... I'm sorry. U set me up for such a good plot, and he encouraged me to follow through. I swear to God this is the last story I'll ever mention NF/ER so stick with me! This won't even be the whole plot of the story, I have so much planned. Oh, and just so you know: I have written out a story plan so I have no excuse not to update. No more scrambling for chapter ideas. **

**In the reviews, tell me who your favorite character is so far and why. See ya!**

**~Scarlett**


	16. Divine Intervention Once Again

**I'm tired. Thank goodness modeluchosen1 helped me write this. Check him out! (I've probably said that like twenty times.)**

We made our way back to base, and guess what we did? Slept. God, this game was so predictable and boring. Sleep, eat, survive. Why couldn't we go shopping, or get manicures? And worst of all, my dress got caught on a log on a fence on the way back and it tore. I had to use shears to cut it a bit shorter. My beautiful dress. Ugh.

My dreams once again brought me to an unknown land without my consent. This time it was a mansion of some type. I entered a room and went through it. Cautiously, I walked through the long, dark hallway. There were pictures on either side of my dearest friends and family. My mom and dad, Vanessa and Camille, Vincent, and some others. Towards the end of the hallway were three pictures: Anthea, Madeline, and someone I didn't recognize. The face was familiar, though. Could this be my forgotten friend?

I tried to remember the three. Anthea's straight brown hair and her gorgeous brown eyes. I was always jealous of those. And Madeline's blonde curls... I loved them. Back then I had dirty blonde hair, I had dyed it between then and now. The other girl, with jet black in this picture, was my supposed twin. Her hair cascaded in gentle waves at her shoulder. She did look extremely similar to Mike, eye color aside. Her name, though, what was it? Emma, or maybe Merle? It was something like that.

I looked at the pictures until a voice boomed behind me. "You won't get anywhere by looking at those."

I gasped and turned around. "Who are you?" I knew this man. He had been the one in my daydream! Now, he was back once again.

He smiled. "I am Lord Notch." Lord? "I know, I'm usually depicted as wearing brown clothing. I'm sorry about the white robes, the outfit's part of the job."

"Your job as being a lord of... What, exactly?" I asked.

"You haven't heard of me?" I shook my head. "I am the owner and creator of Minecraft, dear girl. How long have you played the game?" He motioned for me to sit with him on a couch.

"In real life?" I pondered. "Um... The five minutes I was forced to."

He sighed. "I was wondering why you struggled so much. I knew you weren't the most experienced player, but-"

"Anyways." I interrupted, not wanting to here yet another person insult me. "Why am I here?"

He smiled. "Oh yes, that is the question. Why are you here? My dear girl, I'm not sure I can answer that for you. The real reason, I must say, is not something I want to talk to you about. Not yet. But we can start with that girl, right up there." He pointed to my friend. "Do you know who that is?"

I sighed. "She was my best friend. I don't even know her name."

He smiled sympathetically. "I see. Maybe I can jog your memory?" He pulled out an emerald.

"Yeah, so?" I asked. "It's just an emerald... Wait a minute." I felt the wheels turning in my head. Her name sounded so close to Emerald, Emily, and Merle... "Oh my gosh."

"Did you remember?" Notch asked slyly.

"Esmerelda." I whispered. "Esme."

He grinned. "Good."

I felt my eyes water as memories flooded my mind. "How does someone just forget their best friend? How does everyone forget she exists?"

"I guess you remember that a lot of people ignored you in 8th grade." I nodded. "It's easy to forget about someone you never talked to."

"What about Anthea? Madeline?" I asked. "I don't even remember why we stopped being friends. What happened to them?"

He shrugged. "You know, I can only answer for Madeline. She moved to a different school after 8th grade."

"Anthea, then." I insisted. "She must still be around."

"She is." Notch answered. "You just don't pay attention."

"Excuse me?" I scoffed. "I'm extremely observant."

He chuckled. "Sure. You totally noticed when Anthea tried to be your friend all freshman year in high school. When people constantly warned you about Vincent."

That hurt a bit. "Whatever. What happened to her?"

"After you guys fought, she stayed alone until after you hooked up with Vincent. Even though she tried to apologize you were too wrapped up in your boyfriend to care."

"She was jealous I got a guy and she didn't." I said. "What was that fight about anyways?"

"That's not important." He said. "What is important, however, is your challenge."

"My challenge?" I echoed.

"Yes." He confirmed. "Do you really think you were brought here for no reason? Each person you've met was hand picked for this journey."

"Wait." I said. "You brought me here!"

I saw a glint in his eyes. "Maybe. You really get me off task."

"This is a dream, Lord Notch, we have all the time in the world."

He laughed. "I like the way you think. Using that imaginative brain, picture this: A monster, capable of plunging the entirety of existence into darkness, slowly gaining form." I shivered. "This very monster is closer to you than anyone should be. It's growing stronger as we speak, ready to pounce."

'Pounce on what, exactly,' I thought to myself.

"It can mutate any mob, excluding squids, into an unstable form that will soon die."

"I'm sure Sky would like to see mutated squids." I commented softly.

"This thing is stronger than the third most dangerous thing to face a hero: the Void. Infinite nothingness and evil. Corruption of whatever it touches."

"Sounds delightful."

"It's just great."

"How am I going to face this thing alone?" I asked.

"You aren't." He snapped his fingers and Mike and Sky appeared before my eyes... in video form. They seemed to be running for their lives. "They're headed towards that village over their. You know the one. I suggest you do so as well."

"How are they injured?" I asked innocently.

He sighed. "The game hasn't been treating them well."

"Oh." I said simply. We stayed silent for a moment. "Can I wake up now?"

"Of course. Nice talking to you, Elle Meadows." I felt myself slowly regaining consciousness. "Good luck fighting the Demon."

**I made a plot. Yay! Sort of... Don't judge me. Leave a review telling me how you think everyone forgot about Esmerelda! **

**Pro tip: Never take melatonin before "quickly" going to work on a story. **


	17. Outside the Village

**Have you ever seen Wicked? The song Defying Gravity is stuck in my head and, though it's amazing, I'm starting to get annoyed. Ugh. **

My eyes fluttered open and I sat up. No one else was awake, and I guess they felt safe enough with our new iron door since no one was on watch. Not my personal preference, but I was the noob. They knew what they were doing, I hoped. Jordan slept peacefully in a corner opposite mine while Steve tossed and turned, muttering about creepers. Gosh, that guy really had a grudge against them.

I got up unsteadily and felt the pain of a head rush. Moaning quietly, I stumbled over to the door and looked outside. It was early morning, the sun just barely peeking over the horizon. There was a gentle breeze, and pigs oinked in the background. The zombies and skeletons had burned by now, leaving the hills safe and clear. For a moment, I forgot all of my troubles and stared. It was perfect.

Then I remembered my dream.

I had to fight a demon and save Minecraft. Stronger than the Void, whatever that is. Basically, it was the most terrifying thing I'd ever do in my life. All because this Notch dude "hand-picked" me. Why me? What could I possibly offer?

More importantly, how did I forget my best friend?

Esme. That's what we called Esmerelda. Some of the memories were still hazy, but I remembered the highlights. Madeline, Anthea, Esme, and I used to study together at our library. It was right next to an ice cream bar, so we'd go there afterwards. Riding bikes or walking through town, going to my vacation house in the summer... They made my middle school years better. We used to throw sleepovers and prank call popular boys. I rolled my eyes, boys did that to me all the time now. My heart ached thinking of the fun we had.

It still bugged me, nagging in the back of my mind. I just forgot about her. Madeline left, Anthea fought with me, and Esme... Disappeared? I struggled to remember the last time I saw her, but u couldn't do it. It was as if someone took all my memories of 8th grade and tampered with them, leaving me with thoughts of my disgusting past self. Esme, Esme, Esme... I couldn't remember. It made me feel the urge to punch something.

"Elle, whatcha doin'?" Steve asked. I jumped at the sound of his voice and turned around.

"Oh, hey Steve." I said. "I'm just thinking."

"Cool." He replied. "Hey, when are we gonna kill a creeper?"

I bit my lip. "I don't know, honestly. We could do it tonight... wait."

"What?"

'You need to find the village.' I told myself. "Steve, wake Jordan up. We're taking a trip."

"Trip? Yay!" He sang as he pushed Jordan. "Wake up! We're going on a trip!"

"Wha-" Jordan sat up and blinked his eyes. "Says who?"

"Says me." I answered. "There's a village over there, and we need to go to it."

Jordan groaned. "Why?"

"Because Sky and Mike are there and we need them."

"Adam's there?" Jordan asked. "Oh, alright. Let's go."

"We probably aren't coming back here." I added. "We should take all our stuff with us."

Steve sighed. "So much effort."

After a lot of convincing I got them to pack up everything. We were ready to leave just as the sun hung directly over our heads. We managed to travel surprisingly fast, so we got to the outskirts in no time. The only thing between us and the village was a giant mountain. That was going to take a while.

"Should we just wait for Adam here?" Jordan asked. I nodded, thankful for an excuse. That mountain looked tall.

We sat down and I pulled out my comb. Steve raised his eyebrows as I detangled my hair. "You have a comb?"

"Don't judge me." I said. "You're a guy, you don't understand how bad it is with messy hair."

We sat there for two hours at least. I spent the time debating how I'd act around Sky and Mike. We left on bad terms... You know, Sky calling me a noob and me overreacting. Mike didn't even have a part in that, so I felt a bit guilty. But the question was, did I act like I was better off without them? It wasn't exactly true, but it'd make them feel bad.

'These people were picked for the challenge.' I reminded myself. 'You may need them.'

I hated my conscious sometimes. I did need them, didn't I? I decided to act normal. Thank goodness I chose then, because I looked up and saw two figures rapidly approaching on the horizon.

"That's them, I think." I whispered. I noticed one of them, who I thought was Mike, was limping.

Soon they came into view, and Sky raised an eyebrow. "Elle?"

I struck the most natural pose I could think of: My hands behind my head and my legs crossed while I laid on my side. Unfortunately, I lost my balance and slipped off the hill, landing face first into the ground. "Hey." I mumbled.

Jordan rolled his eyes and picked me up. "Hey, Adam. How's the game been treating you?"

He sighed. "Minus the mob attack, lack of resources, and no food? Just fabulous."

I looked over at the lifeless figure by his side. "What happened to Mike?"

"Skeleton attack, and we had no food to heal him."

I instinctively went over and tossed him some chicken. He groaned and I rolled my eyes. As Jordan and Sky introduced Steve and talked, I fed Mike chicken. "Did you miss me?"

"Not particularly." He said quietly.

I laughed. "Look how badly you were doing without me."

"No, I'm fine."

I laughed again. "Come on, let's get you up." I let him mean against me for support.

"Alright, you guys ready for the village?" Steve asked.

Suddenly, we heard the shrieks of villagers and pigs squealing. We all looked at each other, wondering what to do.

**Nothing eventful happened, so I have no relevant questions. Um... What are some of your best memories with your friends? Or if you're like me and have no friends what do your wish you could do with friends?**

**~Scarlett**


	18. The Prince's Problem

**I fell and cut my arm open today. Typing this wasn't the most delightful thing, but I did it for you guys 3 Please excuse spelling/grammar mistakes, I'm in pain. **

"Should we do something...?" Mike asked cautiously. He seemed to be able to stand.

"Weren't you-"

"Food heals you." He answered before I finished my question. "We happened to have a shortage."

"So are we all good to climb the mountain?" Sky asked. We all nodded in agreement.

"I know I'm a noob," I started. "But what exactly should I expect?"

"This isn't part of the game." Mike explained.

"What game?" Steve asked.

"He doesn't know it's a game." Jordan whispered to Sky and Mike. Steve was examining his iron sword by now, so he didn't hear. "Alrighty, let's go!"

The sun had set by now, leaving our faces illuminated by the moonlight. Bright stars shone down on the hillside, their gentle twinkling trying to cheer me up. But I didn't feel happy. I was nervous, to be honest. I didn't know what we were facing. Notch told me to go to this place, but for what? Based on the others' scared and unsure reactions, I figured this couldn't be a joke. Jordan seemed especially tense, almost as if he knew what was happening. Heck, for all I knew they were all informed on this. I couldn't worry about that now. All I could do was climb.

We reached the top and I gasped. Strange material covered the village, which was made of a material that looked like sand but less grainy **(yep, grainy is a word. Spellcheck never lies)**. A weird dark purple block was in the shape of a portal-type thing, and blocks with intricate red designs were scattered all over the ground. Houses were broken and crushed, Squidwards scrambled all about, and a boy sat crying in a corner.

"What happened?" Steve asked quietly.

We all looked around, not quite sure. Except Jordan, his jaw was locked and he grimaced. "Jordan?"

He turns towards me, a solemn expression on his face. "I know what's happening. Take Back the Night."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh my God." Mike said. "You're right! So that boy must be-"

"Hold on, what's Take Back the Night?" I interrupted.

Sky sighed. "It's a parody video Jordan made. And yeah, I see the resemblance."

"C'mon, guys, let's go help that boy!" Steve persuaded and walked over. I shrugged and followed him.

His tears quickly stopped and he sniffled. "Who are you?"

I looked around and, seeing no one else eager, I stepped forward. "I'm Elle, and this is Mike, Jordan, Steve, and Sky."

He stuck out his hand. "I'm Prince."

"You're royalty?"

He let out a small laugh. "No way. That's just my name, it's what my fath-" He started to tear up again.

"What's wrong?" I said soothingly, taking a moment to glare at the boys. Girls were so much more comforting.

"There was a fight a couple of hours ago." He said quietly. "My father, well, not my real father; He was the best fighter out of all of us. When the zombie pigmen began to attack he immediately began to fight. Then he was thrown against this Nether portal-" He pointed to the dark purple blocks. "I I fought off the rest, but now he's...he's dead."

"I'm so sorry." I said with the genuine concern. My attention was directed towards the paper in his hand.

"What's that?" Sky asked as I looked at it.

"Oh, this?" Prince seemed to have forgotten it was there. "It's something my father held as he died. I don't know what it means, though. I can't read it."

Mike held out his hand. "Mind if I try?"

Prince looked at it carefully, but cautiously handed it over. Mike inspected it, but he sighed. "I can't figure it out. The only word I know is 'Herobrine'."

Jordan, Prince, and Steve tensed at the name. "Herobrine," Prince muttered. "I should've known."

"Who's Herobrine?"

Prince widened his eyes. "You don't know? He's the most evil force in existence. He'll kill anything and everything that gets in his way. No wonder he attacked us. I don't know why he thought we were in his way."

Sky shrugged. "No one understands Herobrine. I don't even think Notch does."

I could practically feel the wheels turning in my brain. Most powerful force in existence, kills everything... Was this what Notch wanted me to destroy? Was I facing Herobrine?

Prince dropped his arms to his side. "I must go find Herobrine. It is my duty to kill him."

'Yeah, and mine,' I thought to myself as we followed Prince. He went into one of the few intact houses and grabbed a shining blue sword off the wall.

"Diamond?" Steve said in awe. I heard Jordan once again muttering about crafting diamonds.

"Yeah, for emergencies." Prince explained. "I think killing a villain qualifies." We exited the house started walking. "So, what were you guys doing here?"

"She told us to come here." Jordan said, pointing at me.

I raised my hands in defense. "Some crazy God came to me in a dream and told me to."

Prince nodded, as if this were completely normal. "I see. Where are you going after this?"

"With you, of course." Steve said.

"You're going to need help if you want to defeat Herobrine." Sky added.

"It's too dangerous!" Prince said. "I don't particularly enjoy letting strangers risk their lives for me."

"Too bad, we're doing it anyways." Steve said sternly. "You should always help people in need."

I jumped onto the flower bed and walked on the outside. Their conversation bored me. They continued talking about Minecrafty stuff while I focused on my footing. Left, right, left. God, I was bored. We managed to cross the whole village and reach a pathway, so I was forced to walk alongside the others.

"So, do you even know where to find Herobrine?" Mike asked. "I mean, he's master of disguise."

I felt myself loosing balance as Prince sighed. "I'm going to hope for the whole fate thing to work out."

My foot caught a hole and I tripped. "I mean-" Mile started.

I didn't hear his response over my screams as I fell through the path to my probable death.

**_Will Elle die? _...Probably not. Anyways, tell me in the reviews what you think happened with the pathway! I'll give you a hint: Watch TBtN and it's in there. I probably just spoiled next chapter's plot, but whatever!**

**~Scarlett**


	19. Ominous Paintings

**I'm sorry I took a sick day yesterday, and I honestly still feel like crap. But since I didn't go to school today I spent time writing! Not really. Enjoy this pathetic and *cough foreshadowing cough* chapter!**

I groaned and rubbed my head. Where was I? It was dark and cold, and I felt a throbbing pain in my ankle. I could barely see cobwebs. "I didn't even know they have spiders in Minecraft." I muttered to no one in particular.

"Elle? Are you alright?" Jordan asked.

I looked at the ceiling, a small hole with light peering through. "I'm fine, I guess. It's really dark though."

The light source failed to illuminate the room, which wasn't helpful as I struggled to stand. I eventually managed to shift my weight to my good ankle and stumble to my feet. Wincing through the pain, I caught my balance and looked around. My eyes had begun to adjust to the light and I squinted. There seemed to be paintings along the walls, which were made of that weird sandlike material I saw earlier. They depicted stick figures doing various actions.

The sound of people hitting the ground echoed off the walls behind me. I spun around to see everyone had come down here. Mike rushed over, the others following behind. "Are you sure you're okay?"

I dusted off my dress and sighed. "I think I hurt my ankle, but otherwise I'm alright." Sky handed me some chicken.

Steve and Prince, however, were engrossed in the paintings. "What are they?" Steve marveled.

Prince shrugged. "I fell down here with Father many years ago. The paintings seemed to have changed. I've never seen these figures before."

The rest of the group migrated over to where they stood. "Yeah, I never animated this..." Jordan muttered. Steve and Prince gave him strange looks.

I looked over the paintings. The first one showed a pink and a gold figure jumping off a cliff. Next, there was a blue figure riding a dragon. Then it depicted red and yellow figures hugging each other. The final picture had a cluster of individuals watching the blue figure next to a black figure and the dragon. A pink one was slightly ahead of the group. "What do these mean?" I whispered.

"I don't know," Prince said, "but that last one makes me feel uncomfortable. Black is the color of demons."

Demons. The word bounced and twirled around the room, dashing through my ears and making me shiver. I swear the temperature dropped from cold to freezing. Demons- there was an ominous air to it, a greater meaning that I had yet to understand. My body went stiff with pure fear.

"Demons?" The shock in Sky's voice was as strong as my own, maybe worse. His eyes filled with worry, and he winced as if remembering something.

Prince nodded. "I may be wrong. It's just so common in my culture."

"Adam, what's wrong?" Jordan looked at the fear-filled figure.

"I've been trying to forget, I thought they were gone..." Adam muttered.

"Who?" Steve asked.

"The..." He took a deep breath. "The demons."

"What are you talking about?" Mike asked. "What demons?"

Sky had a far off look in his eyes. "A month ago, one of my friends from college died to a demon. One whom she'd fought off bravely. I thought they were gone, though! Carmen destroyed them! I thought my life was demon-free."

"What are you talking about?" Prince asked impatiently.

Sky glared. "You don't understand. I've faced these creatures before. Heck, one of my friends temporarily dated one. You'd better hope that you're wrong, because a demon in Minecraft is the worst thing you'll ever experience."

My brain was practically doing flips. It seemed so familiar, the way he told the story. His friend Carmen, killed by a demon. He must've seen it... But what about what we saw at the time barrier thing? "Her name was Carmen?" I whispered.

He turned his attention to me. "You knew her?"

I pointed to Jordan and Steve. "We watched her die, Sky. We saw you all."

His eyes widened. "How?"

"We think there's a way to basically go through time." Jordan explained. "Somehow, we went back to early February. And we saw you, Mitch, Jerome, Jason... And what I presume is a demon."

"She can't be it." Sky said. "She's changed. The mask controlling her is gone."

Mike shrugged. "You know, I'm confused. Can we talk about something I understand?"

Prince nodded in agreement. "This was great and all, but I need to go somewhere. I zoned out while you were talking and decided I need to find my real family."

Steve frowned. "Where will you look?"

"The castle, of course." He replied. "They keep records of all their subjects. My father-" He took a deep breath to steady himself. "He used to tell me they found me there after the kingdom was destroyed. I'm going to find the remains and look for records."

"You thought of all that while we were talking?" I awed. "Wow."

Jordan had his mouth shut tightly and he looked like he wanted to say something. I glanced at him, but he gave me a look that said he didn't want to explain. I shrugged and turned back to Prince. "We're coming with you." Sky declared.

"No way! It's far too dangerous." Prince insisted, but Sky shook his head.

"Just accept it."

Prince sighed. "Alright then. I assume we'll travel by horse?"

"I, uh..." I stuttered. "I can't ride a horse."

Mike laughed. "You can ride with me. I'll teach you."

I tilted my head and studied him. He didn't seem to find that awkward at all like any of the boys I knew. They'd be scared that Vincent would pound them for hitting on me, but Mike saw it as an innocent act. Vincent's voice kept telling me that going that close to other boys wasn't allowed, but I shrugged it off. We'd been living together for, what, three Minecraft weeks? This was survival, not flirting. I smiled and followed them outside to the horses.

Mike chose a larger mare, who was white with black polka dots. I stroked her main. "She's so cute."

"How do you know it isn't a guy?"

"I just know." I said simply.

Mike rolled his eyes. "Alright. Why don't you try to get up on the horse?"

I cautiously climbed on the saddle, putting my foot where he directed. I managed to scrambled onto her back and I smiled triumphantly. "I did it!"

I heard a loud neigh and I felt my head make impact with the floor. My vision eventually cleared and I saw Mike staring down at me, trying not to laugh. "I think I need more practice." I said groggily.

**I think I completely messed up Elle's personality and had her think like a logical human being. Oh well. In the reviews, let me know what you think will happen when they reach the destroyed castle! **

**~Scarlett the Sick**


	20. Remembering Esme

**Did you guys see the fight ion Tumblr between Adam (SkyDoesMinecraft) and a fan? I feel bad for the fan. I mean, the one time you meet a famous YouTuber it's because he's angry at your post. It has made me realize that it's wrong to post not-so-nice things about famous people. Because of that I'm considering taking TheSetoProject down. I don't think I was particularly mean in it, but I figured it wouldn't stay on my profile forever. If anyone has any objections let me know :)**

Mike smirked as I stumbled to my feet and took out my comb. Layers of sand departed my hair and fluttered to the ground. I sighed as Mike rolled his eyes, the grin still plastered to his face. Grasping his outstretched hand, I jumped back onto our horse. He sat in the front to control her, but I could see the others had left and were far ahead of us. Mike seemed to notice it as well. "We're going to have to start off slow, but speed up." He warned.

She began trotting and I smiled weakly. This wasn't so bad. It was almost relaxing. I felt calm for another minute or two until I heard Mike talk. "Giddy-up!" She reared her head and took off like a bolt of lightning. I screamed and wrapped my arms around Mike's waist to keep from falling off. He, however, seemed to enjoy riding. He was lucky he had control, and he didn't have to deal with hair whipping in his face. I spit out a curl that had landed in my mouth and closed my eyes, waiting to die.

Ten minutes passed, and I nearly threw up a few times. I was positive he had no intention of slowing down. Suddenly, the wind that had been rushing past us stopped, and I felt my nausea begin to ease. "That was awesome!" Mike declared as the horse slowed to a trot.

"I'm going to be sick." I announced. He laughed.

"I wish I had ridden a horse before. Gosh, Elle, you never do anything fun."

"I do fun stuff." I insisted. "Makeup classes, dates, dances..."

"I mean real fun." He explained. "You know, taking risks."

"One time I went to school with only mascara and foundation on." I shuddered at the memory. "That was a risk."

"Have you even felt adrenaline?"

"Well..." I said mischievously. "If I remember correctly, I used to do a lot of things with Esmerelda."

He froze at the mention of her. "Excuse me?"

"I said Esme and I used to do a lot of things. She was my best friend in 8th grade, you know. My twin."

He stopped the horse and turned around. "How do you remember her?"

I smiled slyly. "What type of person forgets their best friend?"

He faced front and we began moving again. "Madeline and Athena, apparently."

"Anthea." I corrected.

He was silent for a while. "I still don't know what happened to her. Why everyone just forgot."

I shrugged, though I knew he couldn't see me. "I've been thinking about it for days. If life is crazy enough to bring us into a video game, I suppose it can do anything."

"Not without an explanation." He replied. "There's a reason why we're here, and there's a reason why my sister's gone."

"Tell me about it." I muttered, my thoughts traveling to my conversation with Lord Notch.

"I just don't know it yet." He disregarded my comment and continued. "Why would they choose a sweet, innocent girl like her to vanish?"

"What was she like?" I asked softly.

"I thought you remembered everything about her." He scoffed.

"The memories are there, but it's really fuzzy. It's like when I don't wear glasses or contacts: I can see blurs and sometime recognize something, but I'm not entirely sure."

"She was perfect, honestly." He said. "Pretty, smart, fun. She was one of the nicest people I've ever known. If only I had recognized that, I would've felt less guilty when she left."

"What happened to her, anyways?"

He sighed. "I feel responsible for it. We had gotten into a fight and she left after I yelled at her. The last I told her was that I hated her: My biggest regret. She stayed in her room, but when I went to go apologize she was gone. Her computer was left on and everything."

"She didn't... Kill herself or anything?" I asked cautiously.

He shook his head. "There was no evidence of it. I thought she was kidnapped or had run away for a while. I thought of her every day, and I prayed to see her just one more time. My parents, on the other hand, didn't seem to care. Slowly they forgot about her, and after a month they insisted her room didn't exist. I never forgot, but they're still convinced I'm an only child."

"There's got to be documentation somewhere of her existence."

"Nope." He replied. "I've tried looking, but it's like she disappeared from Earth or something."

"That's so weird..." I said. It was a bit comforting knowing others so close to her had forgotten.

"Sometimes, I wake up and I can't remember what she looked like." He said quietly. "Or I don't know her name. I managed to create a scrapbook to jog my memory."

I smiled. "When we leave here, I'd love to see it."

"If." He corrected. "If we leave here."

"Oh, come on!" I punched him lightly in the back. "Think positively."

"Elle, you don't quite understand how hard it is." He said as if I were a mere child. "If your theory about reaching the End is true, we're in for a lot of work."

"Perseverance!" I exclaimed. "Determination! We can do it!"

A tiny smile inched onto his lips. "I never thought I'd hear you encouraging me for once."

The horse slowed to a stop and I looked ahead. A small shack was built, framed by the peach sunset and twinkling stars making their way into the sky. A pink glow was cast over the land as the moon peeked over the hilltops. Mike jumped off the mare, bent down on one knee, and put out his hand to me like a prince to a princess. I couldn't resist a giggle as I took his offering and stepped off the horse gracefully. He flashed me a grin as we walked over to the others.

"Here's a house we made earlier." Sky said. "It's kind of small, but I'm sure we can all fit."

I eyed the house, doubting it, but still following them inside. It was cramped, and I felt extremely uncomfortable smushed in a shack with five men. "We need someone to take watch." Jordan announced.

"I will." I said quickly, accepting the diamond sword he offered me.

"Me too." Mike offered. He grabbed a sword as well.

Steve grinned. "Mike and Elle, sitting in a tree. K-i-s-s-i-n-"

"Shut up." I rolled my eyes and pushed my way to the door.

**Oh, and I fixed the mare thing you guys didn't like. Sorry, I know nothing about horses :p Leave a review telling me if you think Elle will end up falling for one of these guys and who? I'm interested in seeing this, especially since I have my own plans... [insert evil laugh] Oh, and I'm not sick anymore. Thanks for the lovely get better notes 3**

**~Scarlett**


	21. Fight! Fight! Fight!

**So I've decided to keep TheSetoProject up. In response to the guest who asked about saving my work: I don't mind as long as you don't publish it anywhere. I don't really know if you want it now, but just for future reference. And if anyone has a problem with me keeping it up, feel free to PM me and we can arrange something :p**

**^Business stuff. In other news, Justin Beiber got arrested! *throws party* But then he was bailed out :( Sorry to all you Beliebers out there, but I don't like him. I find it kinda pathetic how people are trying to defend his irresponsibility. I know everyone makes mistakes, but just because he's famous he gets off scot-free? I probably just contradicted all my points in T.S.P. about everyone making mistakes. Back to the story!**

The moonlight illuminated the fields as I took my position outside. Shadowy figures cast off of trees, the little branches acting like fingers that could reach out and grab you. How delightful! Yeah, I stayed out of the forest.

An explosion rocketed through the silent air and I jumped. "What was that?"

I heard Mike's voice behind me. "Nothing seems damaged. I think I'm just really tired."

I shrugged. "I guess." Mike walked beside me. "Did you need to talk or something?" I asked.

"I just wanted to talk a bit more." He said simply.

I laughed. "I wanted to get out of there. Being cooped up in a small house with five men who are practically strangers isn't exactly something girls my age are advised to do." He chuckled with me.

"I miss your sense of humor." He smiled. "I remember when Esme used to invite you guys over. You'd hang out with my friends and we'd have a great time."

I nodded, having no clue what he was talking about. "Wait, were you trying to say I don't have a sense of humor now?"

"Well..." He said and I glared. "C'mon, Elle. Your idea of fun is embarrassing girls by turning the school against them."

"They deserve it." I insisted. He tilted his head.

"Oh? They deserve to be lonely and friendless? What did they do to you?"

"Some of them flirted with Vincent." I defended.

"What about the others?" He persisted. "Remember the girl who's parents were convinced she was pregnant because of you? Amber Guid. What did she do?"

"Her new haircut." I muttered.

"You didn't like it? Or was it a threat to you?"

I bit my lip. "Um... Is there even a point to this conversation?"

"My point, Elle," Mike said, "Is that you've changed. And I know exactly why."

"What?"

He looked up at me with a dumb expression. "Oh, did I say that aloud?"

"Why do you think I've changed?" I demanded.

Mike sighed. "I know you won't believe me."

"Tell me." I urged. What could he possibly say?

"Vincent isn't as perfect as you think." He paused for a moment. "I think... I think he abuses you."

My head spun, and I frowned in disbelief. My mouth opened to protest, but I shut it. He had said this so many days ago to Sky. I hadn't believed it then, and though I had no intention of believing it now I was curious. He didn't know I had heard him. If he had enough guts to tell me face-to-face, did he really believe it? "And what makes you think that?"

"You know what happened to Vincent's mom?" He asked. I nodded, of course I did. She left their family halfway through junior year. "Just think about it. When did he start having anger issues? Lashing out at you?"

I crossed my arms. "He never hurt me." On purpose, I added to myself.

"And I assume you know about the fights his parents had?" He asked.

"What?"

"They fought up until his mom left. They started right before he began dating you, coincidently..."

I glared. "What are you trying to say?"

His face fell. "You don't get it, do you?"

"All I know is that you apparently think you know more about my love life than I do."

"Elle, I know what it's like to be in love."

"You don't even have a girlfriend." I scoffed.

He ignored me. "Sometimes, you're blinded by the simplest facts."

"I'm not blinded." I interrupted.

"When things go wrong, we try to get a hold of our lives. If we're having troubles with our mom, we need a strong female presence to replace her."

My lip trembled; I was finally understanding what he was saying. "You mean-"

"Vincent needed a girl who he knew he could manipulate to stay by him. And when his parents separated, he started abusing you to subconsciously show that he had power over women."

"Stop..." I whispered.

"You were just a tool to him. A pawn in his game. He never loved you."

"No!" I shouted as loudly as I could. "Vincent loves me, he told me so! I gave him three years of my life! We love each other, you're wrong!"

"How do you explain the bruises all over your arms and legs? The others may turn a blind eye, but I care about you!"

"Eew! You're, like, in love with me?"

"I used to be able to see glimpses of Esmerelda in you, before you turned into this." He motioned towards me. "You used to be special. Now you're just like every other teenage girl on this planet. Makeup-obsessed, rude, and convinced their duty is to serve their boyfriends. Everything women have worked for, gone with one generation. You are a disgrace!"

I slapped him and he recoiled. "Shut up! You think I'm a disgrace? You spend your life on the computer, stalking my relationships and mourning over your sister! She's dead, okay? She's been dead, and she isn't coming back! Get a life! You can't change the past!"

"I bet Vincent taught you all those stereotypes. He made you into this! Don't you see? This isn't you. This is a product of your boyfriend's fantasies!"

"What does it matter? He made me better, and if you don't appreciate that then go die!" I looked him straight in the eyes. "You hear that, Mike? Go die. I don't want you here, neither does anyone else. Your sister probably left because she hated you! If I don't talk to you ever again it'll be too soon."

"Ditto!" He called as I stormed to a nearby tree and climbed on top of it. How dare he. How dare he! Insult my boyfriend, my lifestyle! Who did he think he was? He was just jealous. He probably had some four-year crush on me and couldn't accept that I didn't like him. No one likes him. I truly wished he would just go die.

Wind rushed past my face, but I ignored it. "Hey, who are you?" His voice said. "Where are you taking me?"

"Stop faking!" I called out angrily.

"Help!" A giant purple flashed passed before my eyes. My eyes widened and I looked up, watching Mike be carried by a dragon into the distance.

**I don't even know what happened here. I just... Anger. Leave a review telling me who you think took Mike and who you side with in the argument (Elle or Mike)!**

**~Scarlettt**


	22. Mistakes Were Made

**A lot of you are pissed at Elle. I'm curious to see reactions this time... I should've written this chapter so much better. **

I blinked furiously. I must be sleep deprived. Angry at Mike's lack of judgement. "There is no dragon, Mike's still down there." I chanted quietly. "There is no dragon..." I continued saying this until I couldn't even fool myself. I knew I'd regret it, but I peered over the treetop. "Mike? Where are you?" I was met with silence.

I scampered down the tree and back to the place where I last saw him. There was no indication anything had happened. Maybe I was hallucinating, and I just needed sleep. I would just go back to our shack, ask someone else to take watch, and take a nice nap. Yeah, that's what I'd do. I began walking only to be stopped by a crunching sound. I looked down and noticed a paper. Curiously, I picked it up:

We have your little friend. Don't try to find him. The mask will rise and take form. Enjoy your last days of freedom, humans. Resistance is futile.

I gasped, and pinched myself to make sure this was real. They took Mike. I could've saved him, but I didn't. In an instant I sprinted back to our shack. "Wake up! Wake up! Help!"

I burst through the door. Jordan, Steve, and Prince were awake and trying to arouse Sky from his slumber. "Are you alright?" Jordan asked.

"It's Mike... Fight... Dragon... Taken..." I handed him the note breathlessly.

Sky had woken up by now. "What's up?"

Prince and Steve were reading over Jordan's shoulder. They looked at each other in concern. "Elle, what happened?" Prince asked.

"Mike and I were standing guard talking and we started fighting and I yelled at him and left to go sit on a tree." I said without pause. "I heard him calling for help but I ignored him and I saw a giant purple dragon fly by with him on it! Now he's gone and... And..." My lip trembled as I started to cry. "It's all my fault!" I sunk against the wall and buried my head in my hands.

"I'm sure it wasn't all your fault." Steve said soothingly.

"You don't understand!" I cried. "Mike and I were fighting about me! He was right. Vincent never loved me. I was a tool to him. He made me into this selfish, bratty girl. No, I went along with it! I made myself into who I am today! All this time, I never realized... Everything I've done, who I am, is wrong. I'm ignorant, vain, and overall a jerk. Do you know what it's like to realize that you've screwed up your life? I lost my best friends, and now I can't even remember them!"

They all looked at each other helplessly. "I never knew girls were this dramatic..." Prince muttered.

I gasped as I remembered something. "Oh no. The last thing I ever said to him... What if I never see him again?"

"It can't be that bad, can it?" Sky asked.

"I told him that his sister left because she hated him and to go die." I whispered.

They cringed. "That's not good." Jordan commented.

"I know!" I sobbed. "I'm a horrible person! Vanessa and Camille left me, so why haven't you guys?"

"There's some things you go through with others and can't just ignore their existence." Sky said. "Like being sucked into a video game."

"What?" Prince and Steve asked at the same time. Sky waved it off.

"His point is, we have to look out for each other." Jordan said. "No matter what our personalities are."

"Like singing someone's life." Steve said.

"Or being unable to kill a mob." Sky replied.

"Or even being obsessed with a useless ore." Jordan added.

"It's not useless!" Sky huffed.

"I don't hate any of you, but you guys just kind of decided to follow me on my journey." Prince shrugged and I managed a tiny smile.

"Do you really mean it?" I asked. "You're willing to overlook my flaws? Because today I've learned I have a lot."

"So do I." Sky said. "But millions of people have done so."

"I still can't believe you're ahead of me by two million subs. Maybe more by the time we get back." Jordan said.

Prince, Steve, and I looked at each other with a confused expression, and for a moment I felt welcome. Then my eyes landed on the dirty note and I sighed. "What about this thing?" I reached over and grabbed it.

"I don't know." Steve said.

"I mean, it says resistance is futile." Sky smirked. "This looks like a challenge."

"But where can we go?" Prince asked. "We don't know where they've taken Mike."

"You said a purple dragon?" Steve asked and I nodded. "An enderdragon. They must be in the end."

"Okay..." I said. "Wait, what?"

"We need a lot of Ender eyes." Jordan said worriedly. "That'll take a while."

"If only the castle could help..." Prince sighed.

Jordan's eyes lit up. "Herobrine! He must've kidnapped Mike!"

I bit my lip. "From what you've told me, this Herobrine isn't the nicest guy."

"It'll be a real challenge, but we can do it." Steve encouraged.

"I assume you think Herobrine's at the castle?" Sky asked.

Jordan shrugged. "It's somewhere to start."

I nodded in agreement. "Let's go then!"

Just as we exited the door I reached into my inventory. I felt something cold and I pulled it out. Red lip gloss remains were in my palm. Shrugging, I tossed it into a nearby tree.

**In the reviews, let me know if you would accept her apology! I would because I'm nice :) Not really. **

**~Scarlett **


	23. Steve Did It!

**Nearly all of you didn't forgive Elle last chapter! My work is cut out for me, but you WILL like her by the end of this story. **

**_*Note- My math teacher is kinda being a butt right now. This chapter is a pathetically short product of my stress and pressure. Read at your own risk!*_**

The castle was to the north of our shack, and after a few minutes of debate we decided which direction that was. Prince and Steve took the lead, Sly and Jordan chattered amongst themselves, and I lingered in the back. I was really starting to appreciate these long walks, as they gave me the chance to let my mind wander. I shivered from  
a gust of wind and considered what the past thirty-six hours had brought me. I'd found random paintings, sort of learned how to ride a horse, watched the only key to my past be kidnapped, and admitted my mistakes to everyone. I almost dreaded making it home, knowing I'd have to apologize to dozens of people for my actions. Admitting you're wrong is difficult, especially for me. But that wasn't what I really worried about. Mike still held priority on my thoughts.

I wondered where he was. How they were treating him, if he was in pain. I couldn't bear to find him only to see he had been beat up. In a way, I wished I was taken instead. Not that being kidnapped and possibly tortured amuses me, but then I wouldn't have to take responsibility for another's pain. I was used to pain, from all the things Vincent had done to me. Looking back I saw how dumb I was not to realize it. Normal couples had sekf-control. That was another thing I'd have to deal with: Breaking up with Vincent. He wouldn't take something like this lightly. He could hurt me again, or blackmail me. I didn't have anyone backing me up, just me alone. Maybe staying in a relationship but getting him to change was a good idea. I still loved him, regardless of how he treated me.

My head perked up as I noticed something strange. No one seemed to be talking. Everyone either had their bow drawn or their swords raised. I looked through the top of the trees and saw stars shining down at me. I enjoyed the relaxing glow and allowed my muscles to relax. Big mistake. A soft hiss practically danced through our silence and I froze. Something green, but much too bright to be grass, caught my attention. "Guys..." I slowly turned around to be faced with a hoard of creepers.

I had little time to react as the first one began glowing, an ominous light wrapping around its skin. My screams were droned out by the chilling explosion as my body was thrown into a tree. My vision blurred and I groaned, not really being aware of the danger heading towards me. I heard yells and my name being called somewhere in the distance, but I could hardly process anything that was going on. All except the unmistakable flash of green and blue that jumped in front of me.

In moments of panic, fear, or pure action time appears to slow down. This was no exception, and my emotions fit all three. All at once, Steve began swinging at the creepers. One by one he hit them backwards, impaled them on his sword, and tossed them aside. Then onto the next creeper. Through my hazy vision, I watched in awe along with the others. Not once did a creeper blow up. He never failed to stab them before they even considered doing so. The hissing noises were relatively quiet, so we all heard Jordan singing along in the background, unaffected by the slowing down of things, almost like he was actually narrating this amazing moment.

The last creeper was tossed aside and I could finally move at a normal speed. "Steve!" I gasped, unsteadily getting up.

"That was amazing!" Prince finished, running over to our hero. Steve blushed slightly at the praise.

"I can't believe I did it, either." He said humbly. "My goal was to kill one creeper, not twenty."

I smiled. Sky had helped me up by now and we were walking over to them. "Does this count for our deal?"

"I wouldn't have done that if you had been careful enough not to get blown into a tree," Steve chuckled. "So thanks, I guess we're even."

"Why does all the crazy stuff happen to you, Elle?" Jordan asked. "I mean, you fell into a room with a hidden prophecy, witnessed the kidnapping of a teammate, and now this?"

"Don't forget the sand trap that nearly got you killed." Sky added.

I shrugged. "I'm a noob. Maybe that and a combination of bad luck."

"That's not fun." Prince said sympathetically. "To the castle, then?"

My face fell. "Right. We're going to the castle." Which was away from any trace of Mike, I added to myself. Fabulous.

They ignored my changed expression and started walking back on the trail. I sighed and followed behind, my head constantly turning to check for mobs.

**Revenge ending done? Check. Now I just have to do everything else... Yay. Leave a review letting me know if you've ever had an epic fight with mobs or players. Even if you've had an epic fight in real life, let me know!**

**~Scarlett**


	24. Complete Destruction

**I've been gone for so long, I just... Excuse me as I punish myself. Here's a life tip for you all: Never attempt to combine stress, lack of sleep, Algebra, regular school, and questionable teaching methods into one week. My life has literally been eat, sleep, and school. Ugh. I can't promise anything, but I'll try to upload daily again. Maybe everything other day. I don't know, this story had leas than ten chapters left. It's so sad :(**

The rest of the night proved uneventful, and we were soon surrounded in daylight's warm embrace. For the most part we kept walking but occasionally we stopped and killed some cows for food. Every once in a while I'd pick up a flower or something and examine it, just to cure my boredom. The rate we were walking wasn't a difficult exercise, so that left my mind to wander. I thought about my life back home and my realization of my ways. Everything would be different now that I understood what I'd been doing wrong for so long. What would my friends think?

Oh, right. I didn't have any friends. Maybe... Maybe they left because of my actions. Maybe I'd be able to prove to them I had changed. It was wrong of me to sabotage Vanessa, and I knew that. But how could show them? And Vincent... Everything Mike had told me was true so far. He seemed so nice, but maybe I shouldn't let him walk all over me. Maybe I just needed to be stronger, show him I wasn't someone he could control. When I escaped here, I would change a lot. Be nicer. Be more assertive. Maybe I'd even go back to being the girl Mile seemed so upset to lose. I had to do Esmerelda some justice. I didn't know what happened to her, but she wasn't coming back. I'd be a memory of her, and maybe Mike could forgive me.

"Look!" I heard Prince shout. I turned towards where he was pointing. A magnificent yellow flag waved in the breeze, towering over the mountains separating us from our destination.

"Is that the kingdom?" Jordan asked in awe. "It's amazing to see it in real life."

Prince was eagerly pulling Steve forward through a small entrance, Sky following close behind. "Is this going to go well?" I asked Jordan quietly.

He shrugged. "It depends when we're visiting the castle. It's most likely in accordance to when Prince goes in his music video, but I wonder..."

I tilted my head. "What?"

He blinked furiously. "Oh? Um, never mind. It's not possible." I gave him a weird look before pulling him towards the others. I felt a weird feeling entering under the archway, but it was probably excitement. The others were standing there awestruck. I looked at them for a moment before I saw what they did.

Blocks were carelessly tossed everywhere. I saw holes in the ground from explosions and arrows jammed into walls. Ivy grew everywhere. Lamps lined the street, some broken while others gently illuminated a destroyed pathway in the quickly approaching night. Houses were broken down and it looked, well... Abandoned. "What is this..." Prince whispered.

"You know, this looks a big less regal than I expected." I said honestly. "Where are these files?"

Prince darted his eyes back and forth. "I... I don't even. What happened?"

Jordan was silent, biting his lip. I sensed he knew something we didn't. "Jordan?"

His eyes lit up suddenly and he rushed to a small pond near the ruined castle. "I told the subscribers this was here, but they didn't believe me... Thought he died..."

"Is he normally this crazy?" Prince asked.

"Just be happy he isn't singing." Steve said gratefully.

"Where are the flowers and the horses?" Sky asked. I frowned as I realized what he said. This place seemed a bit... Underdeveloped, compared to the places we'd been.

"What's this?" Steve said, egging me towards an old puppet theatre. He put his head in the curtains and I laughed.

"Over there!" I sprinted to a small house that was mostly intact. I went inside and gasped. "Oh my goodness."

A small girl lay on the ground, arms crossed over her chest. She gripped a yellow flower over her chest and a smile was etched permanently onto her face. "While you guys goof off, we're trying to do work!" Sky called out.

I walked out with a blank expression. "Something bad happened here, and I need to know what it is." I said firmly.

"What we need to do, though, is find the files." Prince interrupted.

"But-"

"No buts. Come on, if they're still in this kingdom they'd be around here."

'Be more assertive, Elle,' I reminded. 'Don't be passive...'

"Prince, I-" I screamed as cold fingers snaked around my wrist and pulled be into an alleyway.

"Elle?" Sky called. "Elle!"

"Shh, I won't hurt you." The icy voice felt sent a shiver down my back. "I'm protecting you."

"Idon'tfeelcomfortablebeingwithstrangersinanalley!" I said quickly.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He promised. What I figured was his beard tickled my neck. "Look, I was saving you."

A creeper passed by and I tensed. For some reason its eyes glowed red, but it passed right by us. I relaxed a bit as he released me. "You know, you didn't have to act like a creepy person." I said.

"My apologies." He said as we stepped back into the street. I looked over as Sky and Prince ran over, their eyes filled with concern. Jordan seemed deep in though while Steve played with the puppet stage.

"Are you alright?" Prince asked.

Sky frowned. "And who's he?"

The stranger bowed. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm King. I used to rule this kingdom, but it's not much of a kingdom now, eh?"

I smiled weakly. "I'm Elle. This is Sky, Prince, and Jordan. Over there is Steve."

His eyes rested on Prince, but fell to the ground. "It can't be."

"Can't be what?" Prince asked innocently.

"He can't be this old already, but there's no doubt; he looks just like his mother..."

"What are we talking about?" The tension in Prince's voice rose.

King's gaze left the stone and met Prince's eyes. "Son?"

**The only problem with this story is the ridiculous amount of walking. Anyone who's attempted to narrate walking knows how I feel. In the reviews, tell me about the worst thing you've had to write about! Or for those of you who don't write, the worst tuning you've read! (feel free to say my stories, I've been rereading them and rolling my eyes)**

**~Scarlett**


	25. The Kingdom That Fell

**I said I would update every day, here I am three days later... Fail. Enjoy, I guess. And yes, I know this chapter is awful.**

**Oh, and by the way: I've really been slacking off on thank you's for certain milestones, so I'll put them all here:**

**_Thanks for 1,000 views!_**

**_Thanks for 2,000 views!_**

**_Thanks for 3,000 views!_**

**_Thanks for surpassing the amount of views on Equinox's Revenge!_**

**_Thanks for 150 reviews!_**

**_Thanks for 4,000 views!_**

**_Thanks for 200 reviews! _**

**And since we're so close but I'll forget... _Thanks in advance for 5,000 views!_**

"Son?" Prince gasped. "Oh, no. It can't be me. I'm just... I'm a nobody!"

King rested his hand on Prince's shoulder. "Your eyes. They're green, just like your mother's."

"Lots of people have green eyes. Why does it have to be me?"

"Oh my gosh!" I said. "Prince, you even have a royal name. He's named King, and you're Prince. Accept it!" Steve and Sky nodded in agreement.

"But-" Prince started.

"Listen," Jordan said. "Trust me on this one." Prince opened his mouth to argue but eventually sighed.

"I don't understand." King said. "A year ago my five-year-old son goes missing after we're attacked by mobs. Now my son stands before me at, what, sixteen?"

"Fifteen." Prince corrected. "Wait, so this only happened a year ago?"

"To this day." King replied.

I chewed on my lip, considering the possibilities. Jordan quietly murmured something about creepers, skeletons, and blowing down doors. Steve still seemed a bit behind, focusing on the puppet stand. All at once, the three of us made eye contact. "The time barrier!" We said.

"The what?" Sky asked.

"The time barrier. We saw you a month ago, I mean a- We saw past you." Steve concluded. "But it was obvious you couldn't be in two places at once. We discovered that certain areas of the game are different sections of time."

"Is that why there were less flowers?" I asked. "Were they not invented yet?"

Jordan's eyes widened. "I don't know how you knew that, Elle, but you're a genius! Flowers weren't added until, what, 1.7.2?"

"But what about the flower in the girl's hand?" I asked.

"The what?" Jordan seemed confused.

"A yellow flower. A dead girl was holding one."

"That's always been apart of Minecraft."

I looked over to King and saw him clenching his jaw. "Are you alright?"

He met my gaze and sighed. "I remember giving that girl a flower. To think she died such a short time after that."

"What happened, King?" Prince asked.

"Dad." King corrected. "And it's a really long story."

"We've got time." Sky said.

King sighed and walked over to cobblestone stairs. "Well, I used to rule this land. Hence my name, King, but anyway. I was a fair ruler who was far more interactive with citizens than any king who'd come before me. And mobs... Well, they were terrified of me. Villagers cheered when they saw me, children gave me flowers..." He trailed off for a moment. "They said I was a hero. But the last night, the night our civilization fell, I didn't act heroically at all."

"It couldn't have been that bad." I said sympathetically.

"No. It was." He replied. "I can still hear their cries, but I stood there, well, numb. Not once did I help someone. All I cared about was saving my family, and I half-failed at that."

"You mean..." Prince said. "Mom's..."

"Dead." King said. "I don't even know how you survived. You don't understand how long it's haunted me."

"I'm sure it wasn't all your fault." Steve said.

"Let me show you." We began walking up a path to the ruined castle. "You see, a guard came through here with a bunch of arrows in his back. I just ordered people around. And then I went over here and-" His gaze met something and he fell silent.

"What is it?" Sky asked.

"My crown." He whispered. I saw the hurt and regret in his eyes as he gingerly picked it up. "I can't believe it... So long ago that I proudly wore this... I can't put it back on. I'm not worthy."

"Oh, come on." I said. "From what you've told us so far you didn't do anything wrong."

"You haven't heard the rest of the story." He said sadly. "I began fighting the mobs, but soon I really messed up. For some dumb reason I dropped my sword- my only weapon, mind you- and took my wife's hand. We tried to run over a bridge and to safety but a creeper blew it apart, leaving me on one side and her on the other with Prince. I didn't even try and save them. I ran like a coward and jumped into water. I failed." A tear escaped the corner of his eye.

"It's alright Ki- Dad, I'm safe now." Prince comforted.

"I didn't even raise you. I didn't meet the grown-up you until now."

"But you didn't mess up!" Prince insisted. "I was raised in a village by nice villagers. I learned how to defend myself, a skill I'd probably never learn here! I have so much valuable knowledge from living there. Now that I think about it... I don't want a life of royalty and luxury. I'm happy the way I am."

"Good thing you don't, my kingdom's in shambles." King sighed and sat down. "I've spent the past year scavenging for food and barely living. Mobs are always so close to ending me."

"There's got to be something we can do!" I said. "I mean, someone has to be behind this."

"Herobrine..." Jordan, who had been silent for ages, finally spoke.

"Come again?"

"Herobrine." King repeated. "I should've known he would do this! Oh, he's gonna get it!"

"There we go. We just have to find and kill Herobrine, and then everyone's happy!" I exclaimed.

"I still don't know who killed my villager father." Prince sighed.

I chewed my lip, a habit I had formed from all the problem solving I'd been doing. "Maybe... Maybe Herobrine is determined to kill your family? Maybe he did it, intending to kill you?"

"That's a good idea." Prince mused. "But where do we find Herobrine?"

I heard a large crash and a sizzling ball whizzed past my ear. "Guys..." I gulped. "I think I found him."

**I hate describing music videos because I'm terrified of messing something up. Why did I decide to write a book on this? Anyways... In the reviews, let me know if you think the King's being hard on himself or if he should have helped more! If you couldn't tell, I think he was a bit dumb to drop his only weapon. Otherwise he did his best :p**

**~Scarlett **


	26. Taking Back the Night

**I don't even know how the chapter title applies here. Enjoy. **

We froze in fear, not really knowing what to do. "Um... Is he behind us?" I asked timidly. Steve nodded. Jordan, for some reason, had a giant grin on his face. Sky was just as scared as I was, while King and Prince had their jaws set and their eyes locked on their target. "I'm not exactly sure what to do."

An ominous silence filled the air, slowing my thoughts and natural reactions. Any normal person would've ran, but not me. I felt like I was watching a horror movie, telling the girl not to turn around. The only problem was that I was the girl, and my conscious was telling me I'd regret moving a muscle. Unfortunately, the last bit of common sense I had lost the ongoing battle with terror, leaving me standing still and hoping for the best. I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes.

A roar tore through the veil of tranquillity and broke my thoughts, putting my wits and instinct in control once again. I dashed to the side as another flame whipped past me, just barely missing my hair. My body was pressed against a castle wall and I trembled. Jordan and Sky were flung on either side of me. I screamed as the castle was torn apart right in front of my eyes, revealing a bubbling pool of lava below us. Steve was on a ledge higher than us, but Prince and King managed to make it to safe ground near who I presumed to be Herobrine. It surprised me how much he resembled Steve. Same hair, clothing, face... Except for the eyes. I would've thought it was Steve if he didn't have glowing holes in his head. I knew I had seen him before... in my dream! I watched as Prince pounced on Herobrine, King backing him up.

"This is amazing!" Jordan yelled excitedly over the noise, distracting me from the fight below.

"Are you crazy?" I screeched.

"My parodies! They're coming to life!" He said happily. "I didn't think I'd get to see this fight, though."

"You're happy about this?" I asked incredulously. "That's a bit sad."

Herobrine buried Prince under his sword, but King kicked him away. "Jordan's just crazy." Sky said.

"This is awesome!" Jordan insisted. "Look, the parkour!"

I watched as Prince and King leaped side by side from each block, all while Herobrine chucked fireballs at them. "That's impressive, but still..."

"I wonder how it'll turn out with King in it." Jordan ignored my comment.

My eyes widened as Prince was knocked to the side. His head hit a wall and he crumpled over, lying in an unnatural way. "That's it!" I yelled as King was pinned to a wall. I took out the piece of string I used as a hairtie. "Someone take my earrings, I'm about to kick some villan's ass."

Jordan put out his arms in front of me. "No, you can't! Look, you'll mess everything up."

I glared at him. "King and Prince are going to get killed."

"They won't," Sky assured. "I don't think so, anyway."

"How reassuring." I said sarcastically. "Seriously, let me through." I continued trying to push through their strong arms as I watched the fight. Herobrine had King trembling and begging on his knees, his sword nowhere to be seen. "Let. Me. Go!"

"You have to act, it's time to take back the night..." Jordan sang under his breath.

"Look!" Sky said, pointing to my left. Steve was standing where Prince was. I was about to ask where Prince had gone when I saw it. Flying through the air on some rope he got who-knows-where was Prince, sword ready. Herobrine aimed a fireball at him but he deflected it, sending Herobrine tumbling away from King and to the ground. Prince jumped down and towered over a defeated Herobrine. All noise seized and I could hear the conversation clearly.

"The tables have turned, eh?" Prince jabbed his sword teasingly into Herobrine's chest.

"You don't want to kill me." Herobrine insisted. "I have information you need."

"Doubt it." King said. "That's what they all said before we did executions."

"I know about the mask. I used to work for Notch as well, until I got a better offer."

"A double agent!" proclaimed Steve as he joined them. "How pathetic."

"The mask is coming for you. It needs a sacrifice unless you want your little friend to die."

"Mike..." I whispered. "He knows about Mike. Stop! Don't kill him!"

He turned towards me and smiled. "Your girlfriend knows what she's talking about. Tell them how I'm innocent, sweetie."

I glared at him. "I'm not dating any of these people, stupid. I just want to know what you know about Mike."

"Ah, you and him? I can't really see that."

"I'm not dating him!" I yelled. "You are being threatened with a sword, don't test me. Now, what do you know about Mike?"

"They're torturing him." He grinned. "Getting every last word out of him so the process is much easier. If you don't come to him, they'll come to you."

"He's lying, Elle." Sky muttered into my ear.

"Tell me the truth." I demanded.

"He's in the worst pain of his life, and that's the truth. I'm a completely honest person." He smiled.

"Tell that to the demons in hell." growled Prince, shoving his sword into Herobrine.

"No!" I cried out as the body went limp. The building slowly repaired itself, but I payed no attention. "He was our only source about Mike!"

"He was lying, Elle." Prince assured.

"But what if he wasn't?" I asked. "What if he really isn't okay?"

"Then we find a way to sneak him out." King said. "I don't even know what's going on right now, but-"

Steve quickly explained what happened to Mike. "And now, we apparently need a sacrifice."

"Me." I said determinedly. "I'll do it."

**Dun dun dun! Oh, this ending isn't ****even dramatic. Seriously, though,you don't even know how tempted I was to write "I volunteer as tribute". Even though no one answers this, leave a review telling me some things I could improve on! I need some criticism :3**

**~Scarlett **


	27. Insert Title Here

**So I'm doing this murder mystery play and I have an awesome part (I technically kill the guy :3) It got me in the mood to write... So I made this. I had more but I didn't want it to be overwhelming.**

**Thanks for 5,000 views! I am literally just like... Whoa. And thanks for the criticism. Some of you gave helpful things *cough thanks DJMidge cough*. and to people who think my writing was already good, I appreciate the complement but I know I need to fix a lot. Thanks for being nice, though :) The guest who told me to rest... Sleep is for the weak. **

"Me." I said determinedly. "I'll do it."

"No way." Jordan said. "If we want to sneak him out we need someone who's... Who's-"

"Actually good at fighting?" Sky asked. I glared at him.

"Yeah." Jordan agreed. "Sorry, but you don't exactly fit that standard."

"That's rude!" I snapped.

Steve rested a hand on my shoulder. "Elle, I'm sorry, but you aren't the best for the job. Wouldn't you rather save Mike then put your life in jeopardy?" The destroyed halls let the silence echo off the walls.

"You know I'm going to do it anyways." I eventually mumbled. "I don't care what you think."

"Have it your way." Prince said. "I'm starting to think we should split into groups and look."

"My son and I will work together." King said firmly.

"I'll take Elle, I can easily overpower her if she tries something stupid." Sky offered. I glared at him.

"So I'm stuck with Jordan?" Steve moaned. "He's going to narrate the whole trip by singing!"

Jordan stopped humming his favorite tune. "What? I would never!"

I rolled my eyes. "At least you don't have a bodyguard."

Sky grabbed my wrist. "Come on, let's go in the direction." I huffed and followed.

He led me into the nearby woods. The towering trees cast dark, looming shadows onto us; only raising my fear levels. I couldn't see the end as spruce trees slowly engulfed the light behind us. "Why are we going this way and what are we looking for?" I asked nervously.

"What, are you scared?" He teased.

"No!" I insisted. "I'm just... Anxious to see Mike again."

"We don't even know where he is. It may take a while."

"Do you really think they're torturing him?" I asked earnestly.

Sky sighed. "Herobrine was lying."

"No, you're lying." I said. "I could see that he was telling the truth, but I wasn't sure if you thought the same."

"We don't know much about this." He continued.

"Sky-"

"Adam." He corrected. "My name is Adam."

"You told me to call you Sky." I said under my breath. He rolled his eyes and continued forward, passing me.

I shuffled along the torn-up dirt path, kicking grass along the way. Every once in a while I'd find a mushroom to step on, allowing me moment to hear it's satisfying squish. When there was nothing to kick my eyes darted back and forth. I saw endless rows of trees, the noon sun barely visible under the leaves but enough so I could see it's position in the sky. No light escaped the layers upon layers of plants, somehow. That's why I was surprised when a beaming ray shone through trees on my left.

"Adam, I see light!" I cried.

"I know you aren't dying, stop joking." He replied.

"Wait!" I grabbed his arms and turned him towards it. "Look."

He looked at it then glanced at me. "Should we explore it?"

The moment he had seen it I had taken off, running to the unknown source. I would've been much faster if it weren't for the low leaves blocking my way. After running for a few minutes and hitting my head countless times, I reached my destination. My head tilted in curiosity as I studied the setting.

A cozy log cabin lay before me, torches lighting up the area surrounding it. It was one story and made of all different types of wood, all the the main logs looked like the spruce trees that surrounded us. A small stream trickled down a hill and past the cabin, and a bridge connected the land I was on to the property. A garden consisting of wheat, melons, and carrots filled up the land on one side of the home. Windows gave me limited access of the inside, but I saw a bookcase and a bed.

"You need to slow down." Adam said breathlessly as he walked beside me. "Wait. A cabin?"

I nodded. 'Let's go inside!"

"It could very well have people inside." He warned.

"Oh, look." I said. "The garden isn't harvested. No one seems to be moving around inside. And if they are, we ask politely for a place to stay or food or something."

"But-"

I grabbed him before he could object and pulled him to the door. He sighed in defeat and knocked on the door cautiously. We waited patiently in silence. A good thirty seconds passed before I swung the door open. "Hello? Anybody here?"

There was no response, so I carefully walked to the center of the room and looked around. Furnaces and chests lined the walls, and I curiously began to sort through the items. "Elle, I'm not comfortable with this... It's basically robbing." Adam's voice wavered.

"Oh, relax. No one's using this stuff anyways." I pushed his concern to the side and kept looking. "Oh! Two diamond swords and a journal."

"Now you'll see these belong to a real person." He sighed in relief. "Go on, read it."

I looked for somewhere to read, but the last entry was marked. I took a deep breath. "_February 27, 2014: I have so much to write and so little time. They know who I am and what I know. I'll record this here to help others in the future. Do not, under any circumstances, trust them. The glowing eyes may seem truthful, but that's just a spell_."

"Glowing eyes?" Adam asked. I shrugged.

_"They are in the End, slowly coming out to look for new contenders. They try over and over again, but always fail. Minecrafters who are lonely, hurt, and easy to catch. If they find a group they'll pick them off one by one until they're all dead. Sacrifices are useless. They'll all end up dead, just as I presume my fate to be._

_"Notch has prophesied a group to come that will challenge these rulers, maybe even succeeding. This group must go to the End themselves and defeat this... Monster. I myself have gathered enough Eye of Enders to make the trip along with my friend. We'll attempt to win, but we understand we may not survive to tell the tail. They'll torture us, make us speak about how we knew they were there. Death is coming closer with each breath I take, each word I write. For now, I must give a parting words to my possible successors: Trust no one. They wait for you in the End, daring you to try. They watch your every move waiting to find your weak points. Rule out no ideas, carry out no bad plans. I wish you the best of luck, my friends. Kill the monster for all of Minecraftia."_

I stared in shock at the words I just read. "What on Earth is this?" I asked.

Adam reached his hands into the chest. "Look, Ender Eyes! He never got to his journey!"

"What do they do?"

"You throw them into the air like this-" He tossed one upwards. "And they lead you to a stronghold. That's a place to get to the End."

"May I have one?" I asked. He handed me it and I blitzed outside.

"Elle?" He called.

"Let's do this!" I charged back into the ominous forest as the sun set behind me.

**The next chapter, I'm so excited. It's just like... Agshidbwbbsjjckdbsndjsjs I wrote a certain part a while ago since I couldn't wait. In the reviews, tell me what types of chapters/scenes make you happy to write. I like adventure/action or romance. Mostly fights or things I've literally planned for months. I'm obsessive, just ask modeluchosen1.**

**~Scarlett**


	28. When Squids Fly

**Late night upload that's a bit longer just 'cause I love you guys :) I don't even know why I'm so excited for this chapter. It seemed more epic in my head. **

Adam's feet pounded behind me as I ducked under branches and leaves. Every once in a while I'd toss an Ender eye to the roof of the forest and follow its relative direction, catching it as I charged forward. Adam was much slower than me, but not at all because of physical ability. My only lead rested in my hands, quite literally. My determination gave me the strength to move as fast as a cheetah and to duck as fast as a... Duck. I don't know what animals duck. Just let me have my moment.

I tossed another eye into the air, my body turning left as it spiraled to the ground. "We have to go this way!" I rushed forward, only to almost fall off a cliff. Adam grabbed my arm so I didn't do so. "There's a lot of mobs." I whispered.

A lot was an understatement. About twenty blocks below me was a clearing filled with mobs. I saw zombies, skeletons, creepers, what I believed were called Endermen, and much more. The very thought of facing all of them made me shiver. I glanced at our surroundings and sighed. In the distance, I could see the cliff went on for ages. There was no way to climb down without completely losing track of our destination or dying.

Adam looked around. "We only have diamond swords. No armor. Elle, we are screwed." He sat down against a tree. "I mean, I have this budder helmet..." He pulled a golden helmet off a skeleton's skull.

"That's a bit gross." I commented. My head swiveled around, looking for possible answers. We didn't have a water bucket or dirt to build with. We had trees, but even if we made planks we'd probably die trying to build down, get shot by a skeleton or something. It seemed hopeless. I sat beside a small pond and looked at two squids. "If only squids could fly, eh?" My eyes widened and I grinned. "That's it! Adam, I have a plan."

He looked at me, then the squids, and back at me. "No way. I will never touch a squid unless it's to kill it."

"Listen." I said. "I'm going to put aside my disgust of touching fish-like creatures. Can't you just set aside your pride for once? We can either make it to where they have Mike and get out of here, or we can die trying."

He bit his lip. "You know, we should just go find the others-"

"Adam!" I grabbed his wrist and stared intensely into his eyes. "Do you trust me?"

A grin spread across his face. "I just met you..."

I rolled my eyes. "Trust me." I dragged him over to the creatures without waiting for an answer.

"I don't see how this helps anything." He groaned.

"We'll either make it safely or die looking badass." I replied. "Now, c'mon. Let's hope gravity doesn't apply to squids."

He hesitantly touched a squid. "Please don't kill me for my budder."

The squid took one look at him and dropped off the cliff, Adam screaming in terror. I Iaughed, as I could've sworn I saw the squid smile, and got on my own ride. "Let's do this."

I sailed off the cliff, the wind rushing through my hair. Flying is the most exhilarating experience you can have. I could feel adrenaline shoot through my veins as I prepared to land on my feet. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Adam smiling in the weird, twisted way you do when air's pushing against your face. I flashed a grin and rolled onto the ground, landing on my side. Instinct took over as I started swinging through anything that moved. Of course, Adam was more efficient than I, but I felt accomplished for managing to stay relatively healthy throughout. We both hit a skeleton and caused it to fall to the ground.

"That was-"

"Amazing?" I finished his sentence. "I told you to trust me."

He smiled. "I suppose you were right. Gosh, was it really only a few weeks ago I said that to you?"

I heard a rumbling that distracted me from my answer. "Adam? What's going on?"

His face was frozen in shock. "Don't look now, but... There's a giant monster behind you." I ignored him and slowly turned around. There stood the most horrifying creature in the face of existence, but that was subject to change. Its body was made of old skeleton bones with zombie legs. Endermen heads made up the palms, and the squid we used earlier was the head. A glowing ball of light shine through the bones, right where its heart should be. It brought multiple drawn bows to my face. "Duck!"

Adam pulled me to the ground, the arrows missing my scalp by an inch. Before I could react he was up and hitting things at a speed I could barely comprehend. I caught my breath and approached the legs, attempting to make it immobile. I cut through a few zombies but failed overall.

"Elle?!" Sky cried out. I looked up and gasped as I saw him dangling helplessly above me. I had to do something.

"Take this!" I kicked the monster in the shins over and over again. "Um... How bout this?" I shoved my sword into a zombie's eye. "This isn't working!"

"Elle, behind you!" He called.

"What?" I felt cold, bony fingers grab my waist and screamed. I was soon face to face with Adam. "What do we do?"

He grinned. "Don't worry, I think I've got a plan. Now, do me a favor and bite him."

"Eew!" I shrieked. "Okay, that's just nasty."

"Do you want to survive?" He asked. I nodded. "Do it."

I sighed. "If we live, I'm going to kill you." My teeth sunk into the bone. The grip on my tightened and I cried out from the pain. Eventually, I was thrown to the ground, and I rubbed my head. "What on-"

Adam stabbed an Endermen head and broke free. He was thrown backwards, but wasted no time tossing his helmet at the glowing ball of light. Adam jumped and hit a squid, bouncing off the head and thrusting his sword through the glowing heart. The towering figure began to sway and I saw what looked to be an explosion. "Adam?" I called. Then everything went black.

**The New World references. I think I finally made a good chapter title, though! Or maybe only I get the joke, whatever. In the reviews tell me how you think biting a skeleton would feel, taste, or anything else! I'm weird.**

**~Scarlett**


	29. Elle Finds Her Destiny

**Holy butts, we're halfway to 6,000 views. What in the actually heck. Stop spoiling me ;) It was nice seeing your opinions on bones. **

I jerked upright. "Where am I?" I mumbled. My vision was blurry, so I blinked my eyes a couple of times and propped myself upright. "What the..."

Bones, Endermen and squid heads, and other random things scattered across the floor. Next to me were a stack of Ender eyes, and a golden helmet lay amongst the largest pile of bones. I saw the sun rising in the East, and the few zombies and skeletons began to burn up. What happened last night? I stood up and looked around. Through the trees was a cliff... Wait a minute.

"Adam? Adam!" I shook him awake. "Wake up!"

He groaned and rolled over. "Go away, I'm trying to sleep."

"Adam, what happened last night?" I asked urgently. He groaned. I sighed and looked around. "I have budder for you!"

There was no response. He didn't seem to be as obsessed with budder as I thought. "Um... I have sushi?"

He bolted upright. "What! Where?"

I smiled at my success. "Adam, what happened last night?"

"I fell off a cliff and squids were flying..." He said groggily, but quickly looked at his hands. "Wait, I'm alive?"

"Yes, I remember the squids flying off a cliff." I said. "But what happened after that?"

"I killed some mobs?" He asked.

"And..."

His eyes lit up. "Did I kill that monster?"

I shrugged. "The last thing I remember was an explosion after you stabbed it."

His face slowly molded into a grin. "You don't even know how happy I am right now."

"Adam, our friend is getting tortured." I reminded him.

"My parody just came to life! Oh my god I touched a squid, but still. I really did all that?"

"Adam, focus!"

"This must be how Jordan felt." Adam remarked. "Granted, he knew as soon as he saw the prophecies it was happening."

That was it! "The prophecies!" I exclaimed. "Adam, you're a genius!"

"What?"

"Do you not remember the prophecies?" I paced as my jumbled thoughts slowly began to organize. "The pictures we saw in Prince's village."

"I obviously remember seeing them." He said. "I just don't remember what they depicted."

"A yellow and red figure hugging. A blue figure on a dragon. Many figures looking at blue and black figures. And a pink and a gold one jumping off a cliff." My eyes darted to the helmet a few feet away. "Of course! That's us! You're gold-"

"Budder." He corrected.

I rolled my eyes. "You're budder, and I'm pink! Since these depict events that already happened..." I quickly thought back to the paintings. "Prince and King must be yellow and red, that picture showing their reunion. Mike is blue, he was taken on a dragon. And if Mike's blue and I'm pink..."

I was the sacrifice. It was predicted. I could see the image in my mind, just like it was yesterday. What else could it be? Fate had pre-decided that I would service this beast. "Elle. Elle?"

"What?" I asked, focusing in the present.

"You were explaining about you being pink and Mike being blue." He said.

"Oh." I replied simply. "If we're in a picture that hasn't happened yet, I have to see him again, right?"

Adam shrugged. "I think we really need to find the others and get to the stronghold."

"But how?" I asked.

He thought for a moment, and smiled. "Well, I picked up quite a few enderpearls from Endermen when we were fighting. I don't know if this version of Minecraft has this plugin, but... Grab onto my waist."

"Excuse me?" I asked suspiciously. He rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to hopefully teleport us to the nearest pair." He explained. "You need to be touching me for it to work."

"Okay..." I said cautiously, my arms wrapping around his chest instead. "Let's go already."

"Fine, fine." He tossed the dark green orb into the air and I saw my vision swirl. It made my stomach feel like it had a rock in it, and the familiar nausea from the horse returned. I gripped him tighter as I felt my body floating, but it was all gone. My feet collided with the ground and I stumbled.

"Shut up already!" I heard a familiar voice yell. "I'm tired of you singing all the time."

"Cast the shadows out from sight, a final stand, a shouting cry-"

"Stop!"

"Oh, you don't like that? How about: I gaze off into the bound skyline, note block choirs-"

"Playing in the sunshine, I know!"

"Hey, Steve and Jordan." Adam interrupted. Their heads whipped around.

"Thank god! Make him shut up!" Steve begged.

I looked around. "Why are you guys walking through a swamp singing?"

Jordan shrugged. "Cause I can."

"We're supposed to be looking for Mike." I reminded them. "Come here, grab onto my hand."

They tried to object but I glared at them. They held on and Adam tossed an eye into the air. The familiar feelings returned, but I took a deep breath and tried not to throw up. Soon enough we tumbled onto a cobblestone floor.

"So, Mom was a good queen?"

"The best. She made all the really important decisions."

Aww. I felt bad interrupting. Oh well. "King! Prince! Any progress?"

"Nope." Prince said sadly, turning to face us.

"Were you just talking about your family the whole time?" Adam asked.

They looked guiltily at the floor. "Maybe."

I sighed in exasperation. "Are Adam and I the only ones who get stuff done? We need to find Mike!"

"Why are you so obsessed with finding him, anyways?" King asked.

"I'm sort of the reason we have this problem." I admitted. "But c'mon! Let's stop wasting time and find him! I have the Ender eyes." I quickly explained how he was in the End and everything that had happened.

"You jumped off a cliff on a squid? Impressive." Steve nodded his head in approval.

"No time for that! Let's go!" I urged. They sighed and grabbed on. "Alright, I have no idea what to expect, but let's do this." I shut my eyes this time to deal with the discomfort. When I opened them up, I frowned. It was completely dark, with a paler version of cobblestone as the blocks.

"We should probably create a plan." Jordan said. I ignored him and rushed to climb the stone. "Elle!"

I peered over the top and gasped. "Mike!" I cried. I tried to climb over the top and get to him but something caught my ankle.

A voice boomed behind me. "We've been expecting you, Elle Meadows."

**Before you ask, I am aware of how cheesy having them ****conveniently teleport with an enderpearl is. Be honest, though: Do you really want to read an uneventful chapter about them searching for each other? I would hope not. In the reviews, tell me how you think the final battle will turn out! If I'm writing it... Not well. **

**~Scarlett**


	30. Never Trust a Cyclopes-Demon

**Today is Carmen's death day and I was feeling out and we're getting near the finale and oh my god this chapter is really long just like this sentence it's a run-on ahhhh! ...Enjoy...**

I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping it was a figment of my imagination. I was stressed, but hearing voices was just a bit crazy... Even for me. My heart dropped as he continued on in a raspy voice. "Did you come to save your little boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend! Why does everyone think that?" I turned around to face my enemy as confidently as I could, but I struggled to appear so. He was a towering figure much higher than any human, dressed completely in black and flickering slightly, as though he was nothing but a hologram. His skin had small grey flakes that appeared here and there. The feature that sent shivers down my back, though, was his eyes.  
White eyes like Herobrine's dotted his body, while his main red eye stared at me. That shade of red was familiar, so much like...

"The mask." I heard Adam say from behind me. "Oh no, we're so screwed."

"I see you've found my true identity." He laughed. "This is just a pathetic body I'm using to wait until I can truly ride. Now, let's talk. Your friends are in no rush." He pointed out them being captured by guards. "Don't make any bad choices or they'll be killed."

I put a hand on my hip in an attempt to look sassy, but I probably just looked crazy. "What do you want with me? With us?"

He smiled, showing his crooked and yellowing teeth. "You see, Elle, I've been waiting for a pure human soul. All of these dumb Minecrafters, no matter what time period I take them from, aren't pure. The closest I've come was a girl from 2011: she was nearly pure, but a burden seemed to weigh her down, a fight of some type... It's so tiring, having to erase people's memories after a certain period of time."

I gasped. Esmerelda... Could it have been her? "What do you mean, after a certain period of time?" I questioned.

"You see, it may seem like Minecraft can stretch from 2009 to nearly anywhere in the future, but time doesn't stay paused for those in it. You have four weeks, a full month in Minecraft, to escape. And with me controlling the End, no one has. I have to erase memories to keep my existence a secret, you know?"

A month. How long had I been here? "Why must you stay a secret?" I asked. "What are you going to gain from this, anyways."

"A goal." He said, staring off into space. "I have a goal that many have tried, and all have failed. I want to plunge this world into darkness. All of the dark forces will take over and night shall rule. You puny mortals will perish, and I'll escape this cage!" Someone has issues...

"Lord Notch knows about you, and he's going to kill you." I warned. "You won't get away with this."

He chuckled in a way that made me want to punch him. "Ah, and that's the million dollar question. Why hasn't Notch killed me? He sends a pathetic pawn like you. What'd he think, take the first girl who looks like you playing Minecraft and make her a hero? I can just keep on taking kids myself."

"You bring kids here?" I asked incredulously.

He nodded. "Everyone, in fact, except you. I don't know why, but I intend to find out."

My heart began pounding in my chest. "What are you going to do to me?"

"I'm a very compassionate demon." He teased. "So I'll give you two choices: You be my sacrifice instead of Mickey or whatever-"

"Mike." I muttered.

"-or you can leave in that portal. I'll erase your memory and we can pretend this never happened. No threat to me, no death for you."

"I choose neither." I replied. "What are you gonna do, kill me?"

"We can do so much worse." He hit me in the head and everything went black.

My head felt like it was filled with foggy, and a throbbing pain made the side of my head pound. I groaned and shifted in my bonds. Where was I? And why did I have bonds?

My eyes snapped open and I straightened up, looking around. I was bound to a stick by my hands and feet, facing a sort of altar. All of my friends were on stakes similar to my own, with the exception of Mike. He lay bruised and passed out on the altar. Millions of Endermen surrounded us, and the purple dragon I had seen take Mike flew above us. I winced as I tried to move my wrists, but them seemed to have been cut by the rope. I sighed angrily and looked at the others. Jordan was inspecting his ropes while Adam seemed to be lost in thought. Prince and King were whispering to each other whenever they could. Steve, on the other hand, was silently staring at the altar. They had my friends now, how great. I didn't even know what he would do. What he could do.

"I see the princess has awaken from her slumber?" I scowled at the Mask as he walked towards me. "Perfect timing. We were almost going to start the ceremony without you."

"And what ceremony would that be?" I inquired. I had decided that seeming brave for the others would help, though they probably knew I was terrified.

"The judging of your souls." He says happily. "This young fellow is just like his sister: nearly pure, but still upset about a fight or something. He's well on his way to death now, but I'll finish him off along with you other outcasts."

"How do you judge our souls, exactly?" King asked.

He grinned. "I was waiting for someone to ask that. You see, to have a pure soul you must not only think kindly but act that way. These days no one is like that, so it's been very tough doing this. Some come close, but I've found that children often take out their anger while playing Minecraft." I rolled my eyes. Everyone here had faults, so he obviously wouldn't be able to use us.

"Let's begin, shall we?" He continued. "I'll start down here." He walked over to King and placed a hand on his forehead. "Ah, how interesting. You abandoned your people? Shame on you." Next to Prince. "You let your father die? Terrible."

He continued like this down the line. "You killed innocent creepers. You song way to much, and you're too annoying." He paused at Adam. "Do I know you?"

Adam smirked. "Probably from when you possessed Equinox Monde. You know, I haven't talked to Solstice since that."

The Mask gasped. "You dare say his name aloud?"

"I do as I please."

He took a deep breath. "Okay, I say we kill the cocky one off first." He moved to me. "Ah yes, our precious princess."

"If my hands were untied I'd punch you." I announced.

"Don't dare to threaten me when your life is in my hands." He said.

"That's not a threat, it's a promise."

"Listen, do you want to join your friend on the altar?" He asked. I squirmed against my bonds as I saw Mike lying there helplessly. "He's going to wake up before he dies, let's not let his last image be of you, dead." He pressed his hand against my forehead and I flinched. "What are you doing?"

"What?" I asked.

"I... I can't see your soul. You're blocking me out."

"I'm not doing anything!" I insisted. "I'm-"

"Shut up!" He ordered. "Now, think nice and happy thoughts."

It must've been a trick. He wanted me to open my soul to him so he could decided I was pure. Well, two could play at that game. I began thinking of all the horrid things I had done in the past couple of weeks. Yelling at Adam, yelling at Mike, pissing off Adam, pissing of Mike, basically annoying everyone in the group, wasting resources on makeup, sabotaging Vanessa...

"Oh my. You're an awful person!" He yelled. "You have more issues then all of them combined." He bit his lip. "Oh, what to do... I suppose I could use the Mike kid, but it may backfire."

"Use me!" I cried out. "I was only thinking that stuff to block you out! I'm a good person!"

He raised a nonexistent eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

I began thinking about how I'd tried to change, but it didn't seem to work. Suddenly my thoughts were filled with Esmerelda and her kindness. I didn't know if it was because she had died here and the memory loss didn't apply, but I knew how she'd act in this situation. I thought about this as hard as I could. I needed to save Mike and get the others out of here, whether I made it or not. Think happy thoughts, Elle, thing happy thoughts...

"Get up here!" He sliced through my ropes and I resisted the urge to smile. Thankfully I managed to act solemn as I trudged next to Mike's body. "You're very interesting, Elle Meadows, I'll admit. One minute you're evil and the next you're pure? Well, keep thinking kindly and it'll work for me. All I need is a pure soul, so play the role and you'll save someone else."

I gulped as he motioned for me to lie on the altar. "Elle, what are you doing?" Jordan called.

"Stop!" Adam said. "He's not telling the truth!"

"Elle, punch him!" Steve yelled.

I couldn't, no matter what they said. I may have been sent by Notch, but I certainly couldn't kill this being. My only hope was to die as an attempted hero and save them. They could escape if I created a diversion. "Wait." I said.

"Yes?"

"You have to let all of my friends go or I'll become rude again. You're whole plan will fail."

"Fine." I adjusted myself as he agreed and lifted a sword above my chest.

"Wait! Let them go!" I demanded. He smirked.

"Elle, I'm not a very honest person." He shoved the blade through me and I, once again, blacked out.

**All my stories include someone getting murdered. Is that, like, a trademark or am I just really repetitive? In the reviews let me know two things: What happened to Elle and if I'm crazy for obsessing over a fictional character's death. **

**This chapter is modeluchosen1 approved :)**

**~Scarlett**


	31. Limbo, But Not The Game

**I look at the reviews and the first thing I see is "OMG did you stop the series? Noooooooooooooo!" I was like... lol. Honestly, part of the reason I write stories is for my own satisfaction. I would be pissed at myself for that ending. Instead, I present a two-day late pathetic filler/explaining chapter that includes lots of alliteration and makes no sense! Yay!**

_**Holy crap we reached 6,000 views. Stop spoiling me, seriously.**_

"Elle? C'mon, wake up! There isn't much time left! Elle!"

"Go away." I said groggily. "I'm busy being dead."

"Elle-Belle!"

"What... The only person who called me that was-"

"Me?"

I opened my eyes to be met with a pair of green ones that bore through me. "It can't be... Esmerelda?"

"Good, my Elle-Belle remembers me." A look of relief washed over her thirteen-year-old face. "Now, c'mon, get up!"

"Am I in heaven?"

She turned back towards me and laughed. "Of course not, silly! We're in between life and death. A limbo, sort of."

"Is this Harry Potter? Where's Kings Cross?" I asked.

She giggled. "I missed these jokes. It's good to know you're still funny."

I bit my lip. "How do I remember you?"

"You remembered small details of information throughout your journey, no?" I nodded. "Minecraft weakened the effect of the forgetfulness, but whenever we're in the same time period you could remember. If you tried hard enough you did. I'm in your time period because the Mask brought me about a month ago."

I sighed. "What am I doing here, exactly?"

"You died." She said simply. "Just like me. Neither of us can move on to the afterlife, however. No one here can."

"What?" I asked, looking around and gasping. I had failed to notice the endless lost souls floating around. Some looked like zombies, while others seemed insane. Only a handful like Esme were normal. "What are they?"

"Victims of the Mask. We can't die because we're in Minecraft, some of us not in our own time period. Our brains may be in the game, but our bodies lie outside it. Therefore, we're trapped until time on Earth begins without us, making us wither away and die."

"Delightful," I said, sitting on cobblestone. The whole creepy room was made of it. "Why'd you wake me up, again?"

"You need to save us." She said urgently. "You're the only one who has a chance."

"Me? A chance?" I laughed. "And you say I have a sense of humor."

"I'm not joking, Elle." She said firmly. "You don't understand."

"What is there to understand?" I asked nonchalantly. "I'm dead, you're dead, they're all dead. There."

"But you weren't really killed!" She insisted.

"What?"

"The Mask was trying to take your soul." She said. "But since you've been so overrun by hate, you don't have a soul."

"Wow, thanks!" I said sarcastically. "You're really boosting my ego."

"Not like that!" She said. "You've just become this cold, mean person without morals. Therefore, your soul is hardened and practically invisible. That's why you could convince the Mask you were bad and then good."

"So I have a corrupted, hardened, invisible soul?"

She bit her lip. "Um... Sort of."

I rolled my eyes. "You know what? Maybe it's a good thing I died."

"No!" Esme said, but I ignored her and stormed over to a rock, settling next to a confused person.

"Must be nice having a soul, eh?" I asked. There was no response. I frowned and looked over at the form. Surprisingly, its body wasn't solid, but instead flickered. Its face was scrunched up in pain, but I could still make out some of the facial features. It looked so familiar. "Mike." I whispered. He was dead? The idea made me want to curl up in a ball and cry. I never wanted anyone to get hurt. "Mike, talk to me!"

"He can't." Esme said, putting a hand on my back. "And it pains me to see him too."

"Why isn't he fully here?" I asked.

"He isn't dead, but unlike you he can actually die. He's fighting for his life right now."

"Is anyone else dying?"

She waved her hands in front of us and a misty image appeared. "See for yourself."

I looked closely and saw the Mask holding a sword to Adam's neck, taunting him. Adam showed no signs of fear or struggle. I admired how brave he seemed, but my heart longed to grab a sword and slice the Mask open. "I need to go back." I said quietly. "How?"

"You need to think about your will to live. Why are you going back?"

I thought about my friends as I looked at them. They seemed hopeless, and after everything I'd done to annoy them I owed them. Prince and King made me feel happy. Adam had constantly saved my life, and Jordan and Steve were so sweet to take me in. And Mike... He had shown me how I could be a better person. "I need to make things right." I stated.

She nodded in approval. "Now close your eyes and put your feet together."

I did as she said, but opened one eye. "Am I going to click my heels together and say 'There's no place like home' three times?"

She grinned. "Your humor gives me hope."

I closed my eyes again and took a deep breath. "Now what?"

"I have a question for you, Elle." She said. I opened my eyes again. "Why did you change?"

"What?"

"You changed." She stated. "I know my brother's already told you, but you were so much better when I hung out with you. I've been watching your journey here."

Esmerelda was one of those people who you can't help but feel guilty when they make the simplest statements. "So you heard what I said to your brother about you..."

"I know you were mad." She said. "But the old you never would've done that. Please, I know you've talked about this Vincent guy, but he's not good for you. If you had gone just a month longer with your soul in this state you would've died."

I was that close to death, huh? All because I shut everyone out. I couldn't believe it, yet my heart knew it was true. My attitude wasn't just annoying or disrespectful; it was deadly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, I was worried about you." She said quickly. "Watching my best friend get torn to pieces and not being able to help is the worst."

"I'm your best friend?" I asked, feeling tears threaten to fall.

"Of course." She said and hugged me. "You are a beautiful, amazing, and generous girl. You just need to renew your old personality."

"You mean it?" I asked. She nodded.

"Now, if you could deliver some messages for me..." She said. "When you're successful, tell Mike I have and always will be watching from above. He's an amazing brother and I love how he never lost faith in my existence. Now, I know Madeline moved away, but please try and find Anthea. Show her how you changed. Alright, let's get you going."

"What happens to you if I do this?" I asked. "Will you still be stuck here?"

"I'll be able to move on at last." She said with relief. "It kills me to stay here. When you win this fight I'll die and go to wherever I'm meant to."

"I'll never see you again." I said, pulling her into a hug again.

"Oh, you may." She teased. I have her a weird look. "Alright, let's do this. Your task is simple: Kill the Mask. Don't let anything or one get in your way."

"Gosh, you make it sound like a piece of cake." I joked.

"C'mon. All you have to do is close your eyes and breathe in and out. Think of your reasons to go back, to live again."

'Mike, friends, make things right. Mike, friends, make things right. Mike-'

I continued this chant in my head until I heard a faint "Goodbye!" From Esme.

"Thank you for everything." I called out as my vision faded. He may have killed me last time, but I wouldn't be outsmarted. I had a goal, and I would finish it. Nothing could stop me; I was fearless.

I was ready to win.

**I don't know if that's considered a cliffhanger, but bam. That should satisfy you whilst I fail at writing a legitimate fight scene. In the comments, let me know how you'd react if someone told you that you had little/no soul! I've been asked to cry because someone didn't know if I had emotions, so...**

**~Scarlett the Heartless Author (Who Obsessively Kills Characters)**


	32. Finale: How to Ride a Dragon with Elle

**So here I am, four days later. I have an excuse this time: Fight scenes are hard to write when you're me. After approximately three nights of staying up till midnight it's 2,500+ words, so enjoy! **

"I'll ask you one more time: What do you know about him?" A raspy voice demanded.

I blinked and sat up, observing the darkness and light blocks around me. 'I must be back in the End,' I thought. 'What happened?'

In a rush, thoughts and memories poured into my mind. They were all jumbled up and I could barely think straight. I groaned softly and raised a hand to my temple, trying to ease the pain thinking brought. I knew I had passed out, but hadn't I died? Oh, wait, I didn't. I talked to Esmerelda in limbo. She told me that I don't have a soul... Such a wonderful friend. Then she gave me an assessment of my personality. Now I have to single-handedly rescue my friends and kill a demon that apparently a whole group of people Adam hung out with failed to do. I chuckled, mostly because I was sleep deprived and on the verge of insanity.

Sounds of struggle snapped my brain back to normal, leaving me able to plan my attacks. I knew that it wasn't long until Adam joined Esmerelda above, the rest of my friends following after him. I bit lip; I never did well with stress back home, so you can imagine how I felt with so many lives on the line. After moments of thinking, I decided that my ideas were all failures. As fast as I could, I ran down the line thinking of what each person would do. King would jump off a building and magically survive, Prince would ride a horse and use his amazing sword skills, Steve would blow up creepers or something, Jordan would sing, and Adam would taunt him as a distraction. Too bad they were all tied up and helpless.

My eyes darted over to the broken and bruised body that made me cringe. Mike. What would he do? Though I hated to admit it, I didn't know. I didn't even know how my best friend's brother thought. Considering the fact that I spent at least two weeks worth of Minecraft time with him, that was bad. I longed to dart out of my hiding spot and bring him back to life, but unfortunately I didn't know how to do that. That, and I'd most likely get brutally murdered. Somehow I figured that if the Mask wasn't going to kill me using my nonexistent soul he'd be successful. Every part of me wanted to get up and pace, but I held my ground. The sounds of the dragon flying filled the silence of my empty thoughts.

A crazy plan sprung into my mind, I but I quickly rejected it. It was too ridiculous, it could never work. Everything needed to go exactly as I thought it would, and what were the chances of that? I needed to think of something else. Ten agonizing seconds passed and I came up with nothing. Sighing, I considered how to best begin this. "Here goes your sanity, Elle." I muttered. "Enjoy the last few moments of it."

Adam gasped and my eyes widened. Blood trickled down his neck. That whole thought process took less than a minute, mind you, so no one was dead yet. Apparently Adam was on the verge of it. I sighed; I needed to begin now. I crept out from where I was hiding and over to Mike. Prince glanced at me, but I put my index finger to my lips. His eyes were drowning in fear and terror but he nodded. I crawled to the mangled body and dragged him behind a stone pillar.

"Mike!" I whispered urgently. "I don't know how to wake you up, but I need you. My plan can only go in for so long alone, and it doesn't look like I'll be able to get the others soon..." My eyes peered at the scene; both King and Prince saw me now. "Just, please, don't die. I was kidding when I told you to, and..." I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I can't save you, but I'm sorry." I looked at his hopelessly still body and sighed. "Maybe you and I can see Esmerelda together."

I put him down and tentatively looked around the pillar. The Mask had left Adam to bleed and was moving to Steve. Jordan saw me as well, but he managed to stifle a gasp. I winked at him, though I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe I felt brave, or maybe my sanity was officially gone. All I knew was that I had limited time left and I needed to act now.

I looked around for something, anything to distract him. My eyes settled on an arrow stuck in the ground. I didn't have a bow, sadly, but as I looked around I saw many more arrows. My arms were very strong from carrying shopping bags, so maybe... Well, it was worth a shot. I picked up a few and gripped one with all my might, hoping for once my aim would be alright. With one last breath I chucked it at the Mask.

It hit, thankfully. He spun around, nearly cutting Steve with his sword. "What was that?" He asked. My heart pounded in my ears as he searched about. I nervously pressed my back closer to the pillar and tried to breathe quietly. "Must've been my imagination..." He muttered.

I wouldn't dare hit him again, for sure he'd try to find me. Now came step three, and this was the crazy part. I took another arrow and looked for the flying purple mass above me. If missed the arrow would fall back to this spot, leaving me exposed or dead. Timing was key. I took a deep breath, silently hoped I could do it, and threw it into the air with all my might. My lungs tightened as I waited in anticipation.

A red, dragon-shaped glow briefly flashed in the night. Success! I saw it gradually come closer to me until I could make out its face. Now, I only had seconds before it ran me over. I held my arrows in a death grip and jumped. Though I nearly slipped, I felt myself rise back into the air as I adjusted my position. The feeling of flying was almost as great as jumping off a cliff. Now I only had to pray the Mask couldn't fly.

"Hey, you! Mask!" I shouted, doing my best to direct the beast towards him.

He looked up and his eye narrowed. "Didn't I kill you?" He called. Adam and Steve looked up.

"Jokes on you, buddy! I don't have a soul!" I laughed like a maniac. "But I do know how to kill you."

"Oh, yeah? How?" He challenged.

"Like this." I pelted my twenty or do arrows at him with all my might, hitting him most of the time. It did no damage, but I'm pretty sure I got my point across. I steered the dragon downwards and began plummeting to the surface at a dangerous speed. He looked up with little time to react as I flew through him, throwing his body across the island. He landed with a soft thump and I flew above him.

"You think you're smart, eh?" He asked, sitting up. "You're very resourceful, I'll give you credit. Too bad your no match for my minions."

"Excuse me?" I said cautiously.

"Men, get her!" He demanded.

I looked around, not seeing anything. The only other things were Endermen...  
"Holy-"

My words were lost in the horrific sounds of Endermen teleporting. Suddenly, all I could see were skinny black legs. "Crap."

I tried to remember what I had been told about these things. "Don't look at the eyes, they can teleport..." I muttered. They stood still, almost taunting me to make the first move. "Goodbye life." I said and punched the first one.

As if a chain reaction, they all began beating me up. Though I cried out I kept swinging my arms to send them to their death. A satisfying crunch and an odd shriek told me I was succeeding, but there were too many. One hit me right in the stomach and I doubled over in pain. I was so focused on the injury that I only noticed at the last second I was flying off the edge.

I threw out every curse word I knew as I blindly reached for something to hold onto. I grabbed ahold of a wing or something, but the dragon was still flying and I was dangling off the edge. "I hate this..." I groaned. I needed to get the Endermen off so I could take control of the dragon. My insanity offered a suggestion, and I knew I had no other chance. "Dragon? Could you please roll over?" We flew at an alarming rate, but the dragon still didn't listen. "Oh god. Notch? Someone? I'm about to die, just this once?"

I waited for some holy miracle to happen but nothing did. "Dang, I have to do everything myself." I still had my last arrow in my hand, so I jabbed it into the dragon and pulled it back out. Apparently dragon blood is black... But anyways. The dragon yelped in pain and rolled over, sending Endermen to their deaths. I tried to smile but let out a scream instead as I was flung sideways and onto his back again.

"Impressive." The Mask called out. "Too bad you have to die today, you would've been great for my army."

"In your dreams!" I yelled. "It's you who's dying today, not me."

"Good luck with that." He laughed demonically. (Get it, cause he's a demon :) "You don't even have a proper weapon." He did have a point... "Now land that dragon and accept your fate."

"Never!" I yelled.

"What are you going to do? Breathe fire at me?" He covered his mouth as if he said something he shouldn't have. I grinned.

"Dragon, if you could do that I'd love you forever..." I whispered as I stroked its head. To my surprise, it veered towards the Mask and took a deep breath.

"Don't you dare." He warned as we cornered him into a wall.

"Goodbye!" I said cheerfully as flames engulfed him. He screamed and fell to the ground. I jumped off my dragon and strolled over to him. "Interesting, what's this?" I picked up an object laying next to him. "It feels like paper-"

"Stop!" He jumped up. "Don't- Don't touch that!"

"Why, what's so important about it?" I asked innocently, keeping it away from him.

"Girl, you're making a mistake."

"My name isn't Girl, it's Elle silly!" Okay, maybe my insanity was taking it a bit too far. "Now what is this?" I observed it until I heard a terrifying yell.

"Give me back my heart!"

All at once, the Mask swung a sword right at me. I felt a cold hand clench my wrist and drag me away. In my shock I dropped the object and fell to the side. The sword hit the heart with a sickening clink. I watched in horror as the Mask screamed and collapsed to the floor, dead.

"Did that just happen?" I asked in shock.

"Good job." A familiar voice congratulated. I spun around and gasped.

"Mike? You're-" I hugged him without finishing my sentence.

"Whoa, whoa! I thought you were mad at me!" He said.

"No." I replied. "You should be mad at me. I'm really sorry for everything."

He tilted his head. "Did you just admit you were wrong _and _apologize in the same sentence?"

"Listen, I know it sounds crazy, but I've changed." He raised his eyebrows. "You were right that day. I am a spoiled, vain, high-maintenance freak. And then I talked with someone-"

"You talked to the green-eyed girl too?" He asked eagerly.

"Your sister?" I asked slowly. He shook his head.

"No, no. I didn't get her name, but..."

"Mike, I know you just nearly died, but you seem a bit crazy." I said gently.

He crossed his arms across his chest. "I'm not crazy. She's real."

I gave up arguing. "Okay then..."

"Would you guys stop flirting and untie us!" Steve yelled. Oh, right.

We ran over and began cutting through their bonds. "Are you all okay?"

"Adam needs food." Jordan said breathlessly. I quickly handed him a steak.

"That was amazing." King said. "Have you ridden a dragon before?"

"Nope." I replied as I untied Steve. "That's called determination and insanity."

Adam's wounds were healed by now. "This it, isn't it?" He looked over at the portal that had spawned. "Don't know how that happened without killing the Ender Dragon, but..."

"This is goodbye?" I asked, a feeling of emptiness looming in my gut. There are just some things that force you into becoming friends. We all looked at each other sadly before going to say our goodbyes. "Bye, King and Prince. I hope you begin your kingdom again as a family." I pulled them in for a hug.

Next was Steve. "I hope you kill many creepers in the future. Goodbye." I hugged him as well. He smiled and nodded.

"I wish you luck on your YouTube channel. Don't annoy too many people with your singing, Jordan." He chuckled as I embraced him.

This goodbye hurt a lot. "Thank you for saving me countless times. I'd probably be dead if it weren't for you."

He laughed and hugged me back. "I have some advice for you: Don't get rid of that one too fast." He pointed to Mike, who was talking to Steve. "He's a keeper."

I frowned in confusion, but decided to go along with it. "I will."

"Oh, and let me know if you or Mike ever make a channel. I'd love to record with you."

I smiled gratefully. "Thanks, I'll consider that."

I walked over to Mike. "I suppose this isn't goodbye for us."

He smiled. "You say that like it's a bad thing. C'mon, you can't hate me yet."

I laughed. "Do you reckon the dance is still an hour away?"

"I think so." he said. "You and Vincent have fun."

"I'll try..." I trailed off, thinking of my plans. "Alright, let's do this!"

We all climbed the cobblestone to the portal. I watched the swirls as I tried to stay calm. "It's been amazing, these few days." Steve said. "I'll never forget you."

"The same to you." Jordan said. "On the count of three. One..."

I lifted up my hand to wipe a tear.

"Two..."

Mike grabbed ahold of Jordan's and my hand, and slowly everyone else did the same. We looked up at each other with weak smiles and said, in unison:

"Three."

**But wait, there's more! I will post an Epilogue-ish type chapter to tie up some loose ends. First, I have a serious question: ****What would you like to see in the Epilogue? I already have a plan but if I see any good ideas... I may steal them. I am so relieved this chapter is done. **

**~Scarlett**


	33. Epilogue: There's No Place Like Home

**Have you ever looked back on your past writings and felt the need to print it out so you could tear it up and burn it? New Feelings and I had a nice reunion today, and let's just say I facepalmed so much I slammed my head on my keyboard. I regret nothing. **

**So with a heavy heart, I present the final chapter in Elle VS Minecraft and stories in the series modeluchosen1 and I are doing (check him out!). This is extremely long and I don't know why. **

"Elle?"

I bolted upwards. "What? What happened?"

Jack looked at me with wide eyes. "I just left to get a mouse, and you fell asleep."

I looked around and gasped. "Circles! Oh my god, this is a basketball!"

"Yes..."

"It's not square!" I ran over to basketball and hugged it. "I did it! I won!"

He looked at me like I was crazy. "Unfortunately, our time is up. Maybe I can win another bet soon."

"Oh, I've had enough Minecraft for a while. See ya!" I opened the door.

"You didn't even get to play..." He muttered.

I ran to the bathroom, thinking things over. Was it all a dream? I had appeared to have fallen asleep while playing, but did I really? No, it couldn't be. Adam, Jordan, Steve, Prince, King... They weren't figments of my imagination! Right? I didn't even know what to believe anymore.

I opened to door and firmly closed it behind me. I needed a few minutes to myself, and people interrupting me would really be annoying. I turned to look at my reflection in the mirror and gasped. Oh my god. Did I really wear that much makeup? My emotions went from disbelief to humor and I held in a giggle. I looked like a clown escaped from the circus. I was so used to seeing myself without makeup now that this was just awful. I couldn't go to the dance like this, not without being embarrassed. I grabbed a tissue and began dabbing at the thick eyeliner. Thankfully, my skills with makeup were still present. I left myself with foundation (which I had mostly dabbed off anyways), mascara, and lip gloss. A pile of dirty tissues filled the garbage can, but that wasn't my concern right now. I'd apologize later, but right now I had people to talk to.

"Elle?"

Vincent banged on the door. I couldn't resist checking my reflection one last time before opening up. I gasped at something I hadn't seen before. A small, partially-healed scar sat on my right cheek. It looked as if an arrow had grazed my cheek... "Oh my- It was real." I muttered.

"Elle, open up!" I took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Vincent, sweetie!" I pulled him into a light, friendly hug. "Listen, we need to talk."

"No time." He said, grabbing my wrist forcefully. I resisted the urge to cry out. "Between you being late, my brother's game, and your bathroom break; we only have five minutes to drive to the dance."

"This is really important!" I insisted.

"You can tell me while we slow dance." He dragged me into the car and I gulped. He climbed into the driver's seat. "I'm so sorry you had to do that, by the way. My brother is a total nerd."

"It actually wasn't that bad-" I started, but he hushed me.

"Don't be saying that! It's one thing to say it to me, but that could ruin your social status!" He hit my cheek, not forcefully but enough to get the point across.

My eyes narrowed into slits as I tried to murder him with my glare. 'Maybe it wouldn't be that bad.' I thought to myself.

We sat in silence the rest of the ride. The car felt unfamiliar to me since I hadn't been in one for over a month. I kept dwelling on what I had to do, but I knew I didn't have to. It was what I decided, but I knew it was the right choice. First, though, some apologies were due.

As soon as we walked into the dance, glowing lights hit my face. A DJ played music at an unhealthy volume, and kids socialized everywhere. Some kids stood off in a corner alone, while groups of girls were closely knit together. Some couples chatted and danced, while single guys tried to gain enough courage to ask a girl to dance. It was intimidating yet comforting. I knew I'd be safe later in a group of people.

One particular guy caught my eye. I smiled at Mike but didn't dare wave, for I knew Vincent was watching. He seemed to understand and turned back to his small group of friends. I would talk to him later, but I had some priorities. "Vincent, babe, I need to talk to some people." I said sweetly.

He shot me a look of warning. "Stay within my sight and don't talk to any guys." I nodded, took a deep breath, and began looking.

I spotted them by the punch talking. "Nessie! Cam!" Camille gave me one glance and looked away. "No, wait. I need to talk to you."

"Not in the mood, Elle." Vanessa muttered, sipping punch and turning away from me.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry."

"Oh." Camille said, twirling a strand of hair. "This should be good."

"You don't understand!" I continued. "It may sound crazy, but I've been through a lot. I know I've been a jerk to everyone, and I regret it! I shouldn't have been so vain, and I'm hoping I can fix what happened with Vincent. I'm actually going to break up with him after this, so..." They each other a weird look and said nothing. "I know you'll probably never be friends with me again, but at least acknowledge me!" Silence. "Fine. I hope you forgive me eventually." Vanessa tossed her black hair and winked, I could've sworn. But when I blinked and looked again, her emerald green eyes showed no recognition of it. Could it possibly be...?No, I was just sleep deprived. It wasn't possible.

Sighing, I looked around for Vincent, but a new idea popped into my head. I scanned for the familiar face and spotted her. "Anthea!"

The girl looked up from her phone. She wore a blue gown that was simple yet elegant. "May I help you?"

"Do you remember me?" I asked earnestly.

"Everyone knows you. Elle Meadows: Most popular girl and known bitch."

This was going to be a lot harder than I thought. "Yeah, but I meant from middle school. I don't know if you remember Esmerelda, but there was another girl named Madeline-"

"I'm trying to forget being friends with you, to be honest." She said. "Now will you go away? I'm trying to write a character death scene for my book."

"Marilyn Monroe. Please tell me you remember that."

She froze, but slowly looked up. "Yeah, I do."

"Esmerelda. Do you remember her?" I urged.

She looked at the ceiling, deep in thought. "Maybe. Why are you talking to me anyways? Don't you have boys to flirt with?"

Ouch. "Listen, I've realized I was wrong. I can barely remember why we fought, but I know we were great friends in middle school. Now Esme's gone and Madeline's gone. We're the only people left."

"Didn't Esme die in a car accident or something?" She asked.

So she did remember her existence, at least. "Yeah, something like that."

Anthea sighed. "Would you just go away? I don't care about the past, your current personality is in shambles."

"No, I've changed!" I insisted. "Listen, I just explained to my current- now ex- friends about how sorry I was. I just want to make things right. Something happened to me tonight that made me understand what a horrible person I am, and I want to change."

Her gaze softened. "You aren't a horrible person, from what I remember. You just made some mistakes." She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, too. Neither of us remember why we fought, yet it's kept us apart for so long. If you're willing to change and start over, than so am I."

I smiled gratefully. "Thanks." There was something so familiar about her voice though. "Wait. You're the one who told me to get a room!"

She laughed. "You and Vincent aren't exactly shy."

I laughed with her. "I'm actually going to break up with him now, so..."

"Good luck." She said, pulling me into a hug. "Call me sometime. You have the number."

We smiled and departed. I only had one person left to talk to, and they scared me the most. Vincent wasn't the best with surprises. He caught my gaze as I walked over. "Why did you take so long?" He demanded.

"I just had some friends to talk to." I said quickly. "Speaking of that, I need to talk to you."

His eyes narrowed. "What?"

"This isn't easy to say..."

"Spit it out!" He glared at me.

I took a deep breath, but my voice trembled as I spoke. "Vincent... I'm breaking up with you."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm tired of you pushing me around like I'm nothing. I'm breaking up with you." I said, glowing with confidence.

I didn't think his glare could get more terrifying, but it did. "Unacceptable." He growled, and gripped my wrist.

I winced as he started walking. "Where are we going?" I squeaked. My gaze met Mike's for just a moment and he raised his eyebrows. I saw him set down his punch before my line of vision was blocked by the gym doors. My hip hit the doorway as he pulled me outside and cornered against the brick walls. "Vincent, we can talk-"

"You dare break up with me?" He yelled.

"I gave you three years of my life, and all you do is take me for granted." I said as firmly as I could. "I don't want to be your punching bag anymore. Contrary to popular belief, I have feelings!"

He snarled. "As if. You are a girl, and I am in charge."

"I got my independence in the 20's. That's a ridiculous argument." I replied calmly. 'Stay calm, Elle, stay calm...'

"Oh? How's this for ridiculous?" He grabbed my collar and lifted me into the air. I slapped him on his cheek. "How dare you-"

"Don't lay a hand on her." A soothing voice said from behind Vincent. I cried out as Vincent threw me into a wall to face his challenger.

"And you are?" He laughed at the boy's petite figure.

"Elle's friend. Don't you dare think about hurting her. I won't let you." He replied.

"You? You couldn't kill a fly if you-" Vincent gasped as the sound of bone hitting flesh echoed throughout the school grounds. "That's it, you're going to get it!"

"No! Please don't!" I cried, but neither listened. I buried my face in my knees, unable to watch. I still heard the sound of the fight until someone loudly screamed.

"Go away, and don't ever touch her again." I heard the sound of feet pounding against the ground as one of them ran away. Vincent must have won, and now he was going to murder me. I jumped as I felt a hand on my back.

"Don't touch me!" I cried, inching away until I made eye contact with a pair of blue eyes. "Mike?"

"It's okay, I scared him off." He said. "He's gone now."

I looked up at him with watery eyes. "Really? I'm free?" He nodded and I lost it. He wiped the tears off my cheeks and pulled me close to him. I sobbed into his chest and he rubbed my back.

"It's okay, Elle, shh..." He said calmly. He had leaned us against a wall and the rough bricks scraped my ribs. "You were very brave."

"Me? Brave?" I choked out as I raised my head to meet his gaze. "I cried like a coward. You, on the other hand, singlehandedly beat up the toughest guy in school. That's brave."

"No, that's doing the right thing." He said as he absentmindedly ran his fingers through my hair. "You had enough courage to stand up for yourself. That's not something I would've expect from you."

We had a moment of silence. "If you weren't there, I don't know what he would've done to me."

"Let's not think about that." He said. "It's okay now. I'm here with you and that's all that matters."

"Thank you." I said. "For everything. I wouldn't have stood up to him if it weren't for you. Your words were running through my mind the whole time."

"Thank you for keeping me alive, back in the End." He said. I raised my eyebrows in confusion. "When I was laying there dying, all I thought about was how I wouldn't get to apologize to you if I let go. That's how I woke up." He took a deep breath. "I heard your voice and I felt strong enough to get up."

"Well, I'll take the credit." I laughed weakly.

He studied my face. "You look beautiful tonight. I think getting rid of some of the makeup is really an improvement."

I laughed, the compliment flying over my head. "It's weird, how quickly I got used to no makeup. I looked in a mirror and thought I was an escapee from the circus."

He chuckled. "No offense, but you sort of looked like it."

I smiled. "I've learned that mascara and light foundation goes a long way."

"Isn't that what you considered a risk?" He asked.

I glared in a joking way. "I rode a dragon about an hour ago, so don't mess with me." We laughed again and I leaned in closer to him. Our shoulders were less than an inch from touching.

"So what are we going to do now?" He asked. "We've beaten the game of Minecraft, you're free of your boyfriend, and you're basically a new person."

I sighed. "I think I need to find who I really am. I mean, that girl from so many years ago you thought was perfect is an option..." He smiled.

"I would be interested in getting to know the real you. Facades are a stupid invention." He said.

"Well, I'll take you up on that offer." I said. "Some day soon you can help me be a better person."

We smiled and looked straight into each others eyes. I felt his warm hand grasp mine as our fingers interlaced. And in that moment, with his warm and caring gaze meeting mine, everything was perfect.

At last, I was happy.

**I have a love-hate relationship with the Complete button. I'm happy I don't have to stress about writing demons perfectly, but still... Over time, the characters grow on you. I love each and every one of them (which is partially why I can't kill them off :p) Even Elle, believe it or not, has a special place in my heart. I'll miss her. **

**Enough with being sentimental! I have important questions for you guys!**

**1. What did you like about this story? Who was your favorite character/why?**

**2. What did you dislike about this story (aside from Elle's annoying personality)? What can I improve on in the future?**

**3. This is just for my own enjoyment: What would you rank Elle on an annoyingness scale?**

**Finally, leave me any questions you have. If I get an overwhelming a mount I'll post a small chapter answering them, otherwise I'll answer by PM. I'm sorry guests, hopefully I can do a chapter!**

**Before I go I have some final thanks to say. Thank you to all of you who've supported the series. Though it has slightly less views than New Feelings, I can honestly say this is my most successful story. I honestly can't believe the number of views and reviews I have, it's breathtaking. Some of you have been here since the beginning and some of you are new, but I still can't thank you enough. Specifically I'd to thank modeluchosen1 for supporting me, putting up with my inability to understand complex things, and being all-around amazing. If I haven't said it enough, go check him out. Now. I'm watching you to make sure you do.**

**If any of you are planning on reading my stories in the future (I don't know why you'd want to but...) I am planning on continuing writing. I will be doing a non-YouTuber, in Minecraft with original characters story eventually, but I have this problem. If I think of a story plot and put some effort into it, I have to write it. I literally can't start anything else. So expect a short story, aprox. 15 chapters, to go up once I have a plot. So never :p**

**Thank you for everything you've done for me. I love you all!**

**~Scarlett**


	34. His Bacca!

**My new story, His Bacca, is up! You guys should go read it and stuff. So yeah. Winter break is over tomorrow :(**

**~Scarlett**


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